Closing the Case
by EmeraldDragon
Summary: When two bodies are pulled from the East River, it sets in motion a series of mysterious events. Can homicide detectives Inuyasha West and Miroku Priest solve the mystery and stop the killer, while dealing with their own tragedies?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**_ Hey, I'm not dead…yet. But my old computer is. For those of you who have not been keeping up with my bio page, I have recently gone through a computer change. My old computer was a 98, archaic in computer terms, and was falling apart at the seems. One of the problems it develops was not being able to use the floppy disk drive. That means everything I've written, which is much more then what is posted on & , had to be sent via email to my mother, then sent back, reloaded, saved, and checked for mistakes. This story is in fact mostly written already, but I wanted to wait until everything was back in place before posting._

**Special Thanks to:**_ The Literary Dragon, my wonderful beta reader and to Squeakyinuears, who was so kind as to help me by sending me her Criminal Justice note to make this fic as accurate as possible._

**The Disclaimer: **_I do not own Inuyasha._

**The Warning:**_ This fic **does** contain violence. It is a police drama. There will be guns, fighting, blood, dead bodies, violence towards children, and adult situation. If shows like Law & Order or CSI (I don't own those either) disturb you, please click the back button now. Otherwise, enjoy!_

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**_Closing the Case_**  
  
Chapter 1

Inuyasha leaned back in his chair; his feet propped up on his desk, as he idly flipped through a case file in a manila folder. The case had been declared closed last week when the man was convicted, but he still wanted to make sure nothing was missed; the little girl and her family deserved that much. After several minutes of careful examination, he closed the file and stacked it with the others on his desk destined for the archives.

"Nothing?" His partner asked. Inuyasha shook his head as he looked across at the other man. He had shoulder length black hair pulled back into a small ponytail at the nap of his neck and violet eyes. Miroku was tall and lean, but his light frame masked a strong fighter. 

"Nothing." Inuyasha repeated. His silvery/white hair tumbled into his golden eyes and he pushed it behind his ear. Inuyasha was not as tall as his partner, but made up for it with a more powerful build. He was easily one of the strongest and fastest detectives in the office.

The two detectives had been partners for almost four years now, and were the 'odd couple' of the homicide division. Miroku was calm and rarely gave way to anger, while Inuyasha was an infamous hothead. While the dark-haired man had a reputation for womanizing, his partner had had the same girlfriend for almost 2 years. The two were so different many were hard pressed to see how they worked so well together. But all the same they had the best record for solved cases on the force. 

"Got any plans for the night?" Miroku asked as he stood and pulled on his coat.

"Kagome's making me dinner while her little brother spends the night at a friend's house."

"Oh…" Miroku lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

"Is that all you think about?"

"No, I just never pass up an opportunity. So…"

"None of your fucking business!" But the blush that crept over Inuyasha's cheeks spoke volumes to his partner.

"Of course not, my friend, forgive me."

"Feh." They stepped out of the police station and into the cool autumn evening. The small trees that grew at even intervals out of the sidewalk were losing their green, giving way to gold and red. The police station's cold brick exterior towered overhead, but seemed stunted next to the skyscrapers of the concrete forest. People milled past, taking little notice of the two as they said their good-byes and headed to their different cars.

Inuyasha ducked into his red Accord and dropped his briefcase onto the seat next to him. His keys jingled merrily as he inserted them into the ignition and the car came to life. A rare smile played across his face as he pulled out into traffic. There were few things in life the detective could truly say made him happy, and he was on his way to eat with the one that held the number one spot.

Sango, the precinct's forensic pathologist, said Kagome had come into his life on the winds of fate. Miroku said it was dumb luck and a girl with a blind eye to every flaw known to man. Inuyasha thought it was something in between. Kagome, in his eyes at least, was flawless; flowing raven hair, cerulean eyes he could fall into, and one of the best natural bodies he had ever laid eyes on. He still did not know how he had ended up with her, but he learned long ago not to question a good thing or it might disappear.

The best part was her ability to forgive his, at times, unpredictable schedule. He could not begin to count the times he had had to cancel a date, or take a rain check because work called. She had even understood when a case had him awake for 72 hours straight and he had taken his frustration out on her.

It had been a sweet gesture really. Kagome had made him his favorite meal and brought it to the precinct with a toothbrush and a change of clothes. Unfortunately, she had come at a very inopportune moment. She had left in tears, after he had yelled and embarrassed her in front of everyone present. It had taken a week of groveling, a ton of flowers, and some help from Sango to get her forgiveness after that one.

Inuyasha pulled up in front of the nice apartment building and turned off his car. He looked up to see the curtains of Kagome's apartment were drawn. A smile worthy of his partner crossed his face. This dinner was looking more and more promising. Locking his car he strolled into the building and headed to the elevators. It amazed him how long the damn things seemed to take, and he found himself jabbing the up button every few seconds.

"Hot date, young man?" An elderly woman asked as she stepped up next to him. Inuyasha's mouth curled slightly and he gave a quick nod. "Oh, to be young again. I was a real swinger in my day; give a little wisp of a man like you a run for your money." Inuyasha chuckled.

"I'm sure you could, lady." The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Inuyasha stepped in and held the door while the woman joined him. Impatient he might be, but his mother had always stressed the importance of respecting the elderly. Besides, in his line of work he saw far too many older people fall victim to not want to help them a little. "What floor, ma'am?"

"Third. You're such a nice young man. You're going to make that lucky young woman very happy."

"Don't misread me, I'm a jerk. But I do hope to make her happy."

"You will dear, you will." She soothed, patting his arm. "And I expect to hear just how happy you make her tonight." Inuyasha colored as the elevator dinged and the woman got off. She turned and winked at him before shuffling out of sight. The young detective shook his head as the doors closed and he started up again.

The doors opened again on the 20th floor and Inuyasha stepped off. He turned and walked down the cheery hallway to the end apartment. Straightening his coat, Inuyasha knocked.

The door swung open to reveal his goddess. Her hair had been curled so it fell perfectly about her shoulders. She was wearing his favorite red dress. It had an empire waist with a lose skirt that stopped just above her knees. The top of the dress was really only two wide strips of fabric that cupped her breasts and tied behind her neck. She stepped away to let him in.

"Hey, baby." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to fit his body.

"Is that your gun or are you just happy to see me?" She asked coyly. Inuyasha fixed her with a withering look.

"How long have you been waiting to say that line?"

"A few hours." She bounced slightly as she giggled. Inuyasha rolled his eyes then rested his forehead against hers.

"You are something else sometimes."

"Are you hungry?"

"Always."

"Good, I made your favorite. Instant Ramen with diced meat and veggies."

"And for dessert…?" His voice trailed off suggestively. Kagome giggled. Inuyasha chuckled as he lowered his lips to her neck. Kagome gasped as he ran his tongue over her throat and nibbled at her pulse point.

"If you… start that, the food… will get cold." Kagome managed as his hand came up to cover her breast.

"Life's short, eat dessert first." He replied, pushing her against the nearest wall. His coat fell to the floor with a soft crumpling of fabric and was shortly followed by his gun and holster.

"Please, Inuyasha…" He whimpered against her neck, "We hardly ever talk anymore." With a sigh, he pulled back and looked down at her. She looked a little more disheveled than she had a minute ago and her cheeks were flushed, but her blue eyes were pleading. There was nothing he could deny her, even if it meant he did not get his way.

"That food isn't getting any warmer."

"Thank you!" She kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a big softy. Just don't let the word get out or my job will get harder."

"I would never tell that you're weak to a pair of blue eyes." She batted her lashes at him as they headed for the table. Kagome had covered her dinning room table with a simple picnic cloth. The table was decorated with twin candles, which were also the only light in the room, and matching place settings. Kagome would call it romantic ambiance; Inuyasha would call it too much trouble.

"I'm not weak to all blue eyes," Inuyasha defended as he pulled out her chair for her. "Just yours."

"Really? Example." He took his seat as she began to serve them.

"There was that sting last month where we had a run-in with a cross dresser. Those blue eyes had no effect on me. Now, Miroku…"

"Oh, please, don't tell me he…"

"All the way up. I didn't know human eyes could get that big, or that a guy could scream that high." Inuyasha was lost to laughter just thinking about that night.

"You're never going to let him live that down, are you?"

"Not a chance. Besides, it's great blackmail."

"Blackmail is illegal, Inuyasha, you should know that." Inuyasha shrugged.

"So I'm a corrupt cop, besides, I'm not blackmailing for money, just fun." He shoved some food into his mouth. "Kagome, this is wonderful." The conversation fell into a lull as Inuyasha began to eat. Kagome had learned long ago that it was very hard to keep any kind of conversation going while Inuyasha was eating. Just about the only thing that could pull him away from a plate of food was her stripping off all her clothes and heading for the bedroom.

A long curl came out of place and fell into Kagome's face. With a soft huff she blew it back. The curl stubbornly tumbled back into her face. She stuffed it behind her ear, but again it fell into her face. She was about to try again when a strong hand reached across the table and gave the lock a gentle tug. She looked up to see Inuyasha had already cleaned his plate and a soft smile was playing on his lips.

"There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the center of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very, very good; and when she was bad she was better."

"Inuyasha!" She slapped his hand lightly, "You have been around Miroku far too long!"

"Tell me, Kagome; are you a good girl or do I need to get out my handcuffs?"

"You are bad, Inuyasha." She scooped up their plates and disappeared into the kitchen.

"You know you like it." He called as he stood and moved to the door between the kitchen and dinning room.

"You're certainly sure of yourself-" She cut off with a yelp when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Without a word he dipped his head and began to work on her throat again. One hand came up to cover her breast while the other began to work at the tie behind her neck. Kagome gave a soft whimper and tried to turn in his hold. When he held her fast, she brought her hands up to twist into his long silvery hair.

The knot gave way easily and the top of the dress fell away revealing her perfect bare breasts to his vision. Inuyasha groaned. Before Kagome could protest he swept her up into his arms and deposited her on the couch with a soft thump. The next moment he was straddling her hips and claiming her mouth.

With a quick hand, Kagome began to work his shirt open. Inuyasha pressed her more firmly into the couch as he began to play with the newly exposed flesh. He took a one of the soft orbs into his mouth while the other came under attack from one of his hands. The other hand was working its way up her thigh.

Suddenly, a loud ringing cut through the air and the cell phone at Inuyasha's hip vibrated for attention. Growling, he ripped the offending object from his belt. He did not have to look at the phone to know it was the chief, Kaede.

"Let it ring." Kagome begged.

"I can't." He replied, flipping the phone open. Kagome gave a frustrated sigh and flopped back against the couch as he sat up, still straddling her. "Someone better be dead!" Inuyasha snapped into the phone.

"In your line of work, Inuyasha, you should not answer your phone that way." Kaede admonished.

"I'm busy. Get to the point."

"Two bodies were just pulled from the East River. I want you and Miroku to check it out ASAP."

"I said I'm busy, give it to someone else."

"Everyone else is full; you two just closed a case. This one is yours. Now, get going before some rookie uniform ruins some evidence." The line went dead and Inuyasha cursed.

"You have to go, don't you." It was not a question.

"Yeah, I do." He swung off her and began to rebutton his shirt. Kagome sat up and retied the straps of her dress. "I'm sorry, Kagome, I know I said this was our night…" He picked up his holster and coat off the floor near the door.

"It's ok." Kagome replied as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You have a demanding job, I understand." Inuyasha did not have to look at her to know it was only lip service and in fact was not 'ok'. She had been looking forward to this time together as much as he had. He placed his hand over her own.

"I'll come back if I can, I promise." She nodded into his back before squeezing him. She sniffled slightly and wiped her eyes on his back. He could feel the dampness on his shirt and his shoulders drooped. "I'm sorry." He repeated as he turned to her a placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll be back."   
  
&&&

Inuyasha ducked under the yellow police tape and all but shoved his badge down the throat of a uniform who tried to stop him. The area was lit up with florescent lamps that had been set up just outside the taped-off area. Most uniforms were combing the ground for evidence, while one was talking to a lady standing just inside the tape.   
A uniform with neatly combed brown hair and large brown eyes fell into step beside him, skipping every other step to keep up. His name was Hojo. In Inuyasha's opinion he was not the brightest crayon in the box, but at least he was dedicated to his job. Inuyasha mostly ignored him as he made his way towards the white sheet near the river's edge.

"Two male victims, both between ten and thirteen. Both have dark hair and eyes. Cause of death seems to be stab wounds to the chest. The witness," Hojo motioned to the woman inside the tape, "Says she heard a car drive up, the splash of something being dumped in the water, then the car driving away. The bodies came floating past a few minutes later."

"Wait, the bodies floated by? They should have sunk."

"They were tied to empty plastic barrels. Those have already been taken back to the station to check for finger prints." Inuyasha frowned.

"Strange. What else?"

"The witness seems pretty sure about not seeing the car at all, but we have some men searching the area she claimed to have heard the vehicle. She also admits to having touched the bodies to get them out of the water. We've already collected her fingerprints to rule them out if any are found on the bodies. The ME should be here in the next 15 minutes."

Inuyasha nodded and waved the uniform off as he came to stand near Miroku. The other detective was speaking to a uniform, trying to decide if a piece of paper was evidence or just trash. The detective decided to err on the side of caution and the paper was placed in a plastic evidence bag. Miroku turned and offered his partner a pair of latex gloves. Inuyasha snapped them on rather violently.

"I assume Kaede called at a bad time."

"You think." Inuyasha snapped irritably as he squatted down near the sheet. "This is the first date we've had in almost two months, and the brat was even at a friend's house tonight. She was trying not to cry when I left, dammit!"

"I thought you liked Souta?" Miroku asked as he took his time with his gloves.

"I do, but it's hard to get in quality time with his sister while he's around. And the hero worship is a little annoying."

"Better a cop than a robber."

"Yeah, well, sometimes I wish he was not around all the same. It would make life so much easier. But, after what happened…" Inuyasha's voice trailed off. Miroku only nodded, crouching down next to his partner and took a hold of the sheet. "As soon as we're done here I'm heading back. I promised her I would."

"Sure thing, Yash." With a flip of his wrist the sheet came back to reveal the two bodies. Their skin was pale with cold and blood loss and their hair was wet and matted with mud. The wound sites were clean, the blood washed away by the river. A number of smaller, nonfatal wounds could be seen all over the bodies. Bruises also decorated the bodies in odd patterns.

Miroku began to read off what he saw to a uniform, who wrote it down. Inuyasha, however, felt like the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. He felt ill. It was not the sight of the bodies that made him feel that way; he was a homicide detective and saw dead mutilated bodies more often then he'd like to remember. It was not even that the victims were children close to the age of his own niece. Even the frightened, pained expression frozen on their faces barely registered in his mind.

What got to him, the thing that made the numb, ill feeling consume his body was the eyes of one of the boys. They were eyes he knew very well. He had seen them smiling up at him from the framed photo on his desk and the smaller version in his wallet. Brown eyes so much like the blue ones he had just left back at the apartment. Inuyasha's shock gave way to anger and his fist hit the ground as he let out a string of violent curses.

Miroku looked up in surprise and most of the uniforms took a step back, heeding the warnings about the detective's violent temper. Inuyasha stood up and stomped away, Miroku could see he was trying to control what promised to be a terrible outburst. Curious, the dark-haired detective dropped his eyes back to the bodies in hopes of seeing what had caused such a reaction from his partner. He took in the bodies again, this time without the veil of distance the job required him to have. It only took him a minute to assess the problem.

"Shit." Miroku whispered. Dropping the sheet, and walking over the join his partner. Inuyasha did not flinch when Miroku placed a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?"

"No, I'm not fucking 'ok'! I can't believe I just came… and I said…" Miroku's hand tightened on his shoulder as he choked on his words.

"Go. I'll finish up here." Inuyasha could only nod as he walked away, the uniforms giving him a wide birth. They did not know what was going on, but none wanted to be a target for his anger. "And, Yash," He paused at Miroku's voice, "Drive safe, you wouldn't do anyone any favors by hitting a lamp post." Inuyasha nodded.

He ducked out of the police tape just as Sango ducked in. She knew enough not to ask questions when he looked so tense. Miroku met her half way to the bodies and she was surprised when he greeted her with a nod and not one of his usual advances. His normally calm expression was masked in worry and his eyes were locked on his retreating partner rather than her chest.

"What's going on?"

"One of the victims is Souta Higurashi." Miroku answer flatly, his eyes watching Inuyasha's car pull away.

"Higurashi? As in…?"

"Yeah," Miroku nodded, "Kagome's little brother."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my other stories, the plot bunny for this one has just been on a rampage.

Closing the Case

Chapter 2

Inuyasha shut the door to his car harder than he intended. Heeding Miroku's advice he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself enough to get back to Kagome's apartment without killing himself or anyone else.

As he turned on the car and pulled away from the crime scene he suddenly felt like he wanted to stay. He had never been good with the grieving, tears made him nervous. But there had always been that professional distance between him and the victim's families. This time that had been stripped away, this time it was personal. He had promised Kagome he would come back when the work was done, but the work was not done yet and they were not going to pick up were they left off.

The drive across town did not take near enough time. Inuyasha swore it was the first time he had ever hit every green light between any two given points. His stomach churned as he tried to find the right words to tell her that her last living family member was now dead.

The worst part was he knew how she would react; he had seen it two years ago. He could still see the look on her face when he told her the train wreck that took both her parents and grandparents had been no accident. A man had hijacked a train and intentionally derailed it onto a busy street. Hundreds had died and thousands more had been injured. The great irony was that the hijacker survived without any major injuries. He had not been one of the investigating officers, but he had been enlisted to help contact all the families. When his girlfriend's name had shown up on the list, he insisted on telling her himself. Now, he had to live it all over again.

Inuyasha parked his car outside her apartment and walked in. This time there was no crazy old lady to wait with him, nor did he jab impatiently at the up button. The elevator doors opened quickly and he stepped onto the lift alone. Pushing the 20 button, he started up. There were no stops on the way, and the hallway was empty. Checking his watch he found it was closing in on midnight; most of the people in this building would be in bed by now.

He stopped outside her door and paused. Taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts and courage, he knocking. Kagome answered the door a little more slowly then before. She had changed into a pink spaghetti-string top and a plaid pair of boxer shorts for sleeping. Her carefully curled hair was now disheveled and her bright eyes looked as if she needed some sleep.

_She was waiting up for me._ Inuyasha felt his stomach lurch. At the sight of him her eyes brightened and she pulled him in before he could protest. Her lips found his immediately and his heart sank. It was not often Kagome jumped him and he hated to give up this opportunity. Carefully, he pushed her away and looked into confused blue eyes.

"Kagome, we need to talk." The confusion turned to hurt.

"But…" He placed his finger over her lips to stop the protest before it got started. A misunderstanding now could only make things worse.

"No, nothing like that. Let's sit down." He took her hand and led her back to the couch and pulled her down into his lap. His mind was still spinning. Words had never been his forte, the reason he had always left this part of the job to Miroku's charm. But Miroku was not here, nor did Inuyasha want him to be. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Kagome, you know I'll always be here for you if you need anything, right." She nodded, her eyes still swimming in confusion. Here came the hard part. "The crime scene I had to go to… there were two bodies… both were stabbed to death."

"Inuyasha, why are you telling me this? You are always saying you can't break confidentiality."

"Kagome," He took both her hands and lightly kissed her knuckles, "One of the boys was Souta." Inuyasha watched as the all too familiar reaction took place. He had seen it on so many faces over the years he knew what would happen, yet her's broke his heart. There was a moment as the information sank in; the disbelief that colored the eyes, that was shortly replaced by shock.

"That's impossible. Souta's with a friend. They're at the movies. He'll be home in the morning." She smiled and got off his lap "You must have been mistaken."

"Kagome…"

"You'd better get back to work, Miroku needs his partner." He could hear a strange tightness in her voice as she made her way towards the kitchen. "I can make you a sandwich before you go."

"Kag…" He caught her arm before she could get too far. He turned her to face him, to see her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm sorry." Then the tears came. The first few made their way down her cheeks in silence as she shook her head.

"No…"

"It's going to be okay."

"Ok…" She repeated, her voice cracking, "How is it going ok, Inuyasha!?" Her voice rose in pitch and volume. "You show up in the middle of the night, tell me that my brother is dead, and then say it will be ok! How is it ok?" Both of her fists made contact with his chest. He grunted, but she was not strong enough to push him back. More from habit than anything else, he caught her wrists to keep her from hitting him again. Kagome pulled back, trying to free herself from his grasp, but her heart was not in it. Afraid she would hurt herself; he drew her close to his body with an arm around her waist.

She fought the hold only for a few minutes, before letting her body go limp. She crumpled into him sobbing and shaking her head in denial. He cradled her against his body, rocking her gently as she cried. He knew there was nothing he could say or do that would make things better right now, so he offered the only comfort he could.

Inuyasha did not know how long they stood there, letting Kagome cry into his chest, but by the time that her sobs fell into the occasional whimper the front of his shirt was soaked. Carefully, he lifted her into his arms and lay her on the couch, covering her with his coat. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Pulling his cell from his belt, he moved to the back bedroom. He dialed his brother's home number and brought the phone to his ear. After three rings a very grumpy Sesshoumaru answered.

"This had better be good or you are a dead man."

"I wanted to let you know Kagome won't be coming into work tomorrow." Inuyasha answered. After the death of her parents Inuyasha had called in some favors from his brother and gotten her a job in his law office as one of Sesshoumaru's personal assistants. Sesshoumaru happened to be the criminal prosecutor for the district of Inuyasha's precinct. Kagome had taken to the job like a duck to water. In fact, after only a few months on the job, she had shown enough enthusiasm for Sesshoumaru to offer her a deal. He would cover the cost of her schooling if she would work for him for not less than five years after graduation. Kagome had been thrilled.

"And I required this information at 12:45 a.m. because…?" The older sibling drawled.

"I just came from a crime scene, her brother has been murdered."

"Oh…"

"I'm going to move her to my apartment for the time being. You can reach her there if you need to, but it better be godly important."

"Of course, little brother. Tell her she has my condolences and to take all the time she needs."

"I will." The conversation ended without a good-bye from either and Inuyasha dialed Miroku's cell.

"Hey, Yash. How did she take it?"

"Not good, but at least she's asleep now. What can you tell me?"

"Nothing you don't already know. Sango's examining the bodies now, but she won't have any results for us for a few hours."

"That'll give me enough time to move Kagome to my apartment."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I got it."

"If you need anything just call, I'll have my cell turned on."

"Thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

Closing the Case

Chapter 3

Kagome stood on shaking legs in the brightly-lit hallway. The walls were a soft eggshell white with light-blue tiled floor. To her right was a stiff wooden bench. It was meant for her to sit, but she just could not force herself to be that still. Her stomach kept churning and the little bit of breakfast Inuyasha had convinced her to eat was threatening to come back up. To her left, on the opposite wall, was a pair of free-swinging hospital doors the same color as the floor. Directly in front of her was a small 3x3-ft window with light blue curtains drawn, blocking the view into the room beyond. Next to her Inuyasha leaned against the wall, his hand intertwined with her own.

One of the doors swung outward and Miroku stepped out. He was dressed in his usual dark slacks and crisp button-up shirt. He was pulling a pair of latex gloves off carefully, content to take his time. Finally he looked up at them, nodding to Inuyasha.

"We're ready when you are." Kagome's grip tightened on Inuyasha's hand and her stomach jerked.

"Are you ready?" Inuyasha asked gently.

"I-I-I don't think…" He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, gently guiding her the short distance to the small window even as he legs threatened to give way beneath her. Her hand came up and twisted itself in his coat.

"I'm right here." She nodded numbly. Miroku opened the door and gave the signal to Sango. The curtains opened with a sharp sliding noise to show the body behind. Pale and slightly blue, the young man lay stiffly on the hard metal table. A light blue medical cloth covered everything but the shoulders and face. Chocolate hair hung limply over shut eyes.

Suddenly it all seemed very real, as if from last night on had been some horrible nightmare. Now she was waking up to find the nightmare was real. Her little brother was really dead, and she was truly alone in the world. Kagome made a choking noise in the back of her throat and buried her face in Inuyasha's chest. Her legs finally gave way and she crumpled into him. The curtains slid closed as Inuyasha did his best to soothe the coming tears and hold her up at the same time. He moved to the bench and sat down with her.

Miroku appeared with a glass of water and a handkerchief. Kagome nodded gratefully as she accepted them, gulping at the drink and wiping her eyes. The two detectives waited as she tried desperately to compose herself, though the battle seemed to be a losing one. When she seemed to have calmed a bit, Miroku reached out and gently covered one of her hands with his own.

"Kagome, we need to ask you a few questions to establish a time line. Are you up to it?"

"I-" She looked up at Inuyasha and bit her lip.

"It's important." Inuyasha confirmed, "But we can do it later if you're not up to it right now."

"No, you... always say the sooner you talk the better. S-s-so nothing gets left out... I'll do it now." Inuyasha smiled at her slightly. He nodded and took her hand.

&&&

Kagome took the offered seat in one of the interrogation rooms. With undecorated concrete walls, unremarkable chairs, and an abused looking table, the room had a heavy unfriendly feeling. Looking up at the two detectives, she had a momentary vision of them playing good-cop/bad-cop on some prime time police drama. Frankly, she would not put it past them for even a second.

But whatever tactics they used on suspects seemed to have been dropped in favor of a more relaxed, friendly attitude. Miroku took a recorder from his pocket and placed it on the table. Meanwhile, Inuyasha replaced her empty water glass with a can of her favorite soda.

"Ok, Kagome, all you have to do is answer honestly to all the questions. We'll record them here so we don't have to put you through this again." Kagome nodded, her hands clenching the handkerchief. "When was the last time you saw your brother?"

"A-a-at the front door." She hiccupped a little as she spoke, still trying to get herself under control. "Mrs. Hillard picked him up. They-they were going to see a movie and then Souta…" Her voice broke, "Souta was going to spend the night with Tony."

"Do you know Mrs. Hillard's number so we can get in touch with her?"

"555-7852" From the corner of her eye she saw Inuyasha make a note."

"Do you know what theater they were going to?" Kagome bit her lip for a minute before she shook her head.

"No… but they-they were going to see Harry Potter."

"Do you know what show?"

"She picked… him up at 7, and they were going to eat first I think, so sometime after that."

"Where were they going to eat?"

"I don't know. But they… always want pizza when they spend the night at our... my house." Her voice cracked a little at the end and Inuyasha placed his hand on her knee under the table as he made more notes. Miroku nodded.

"Tell me. Has Mrs. Hillard ever given you any reason to believe she would hurt Souta or her son?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Take your time, think about it." Kagome bit her lip again for a moment, shaking her head.

"No. Mrs. Hillard is a very nice lady. She offered to help us after…"

"I see. Then do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Souta for any reason?"

"No. He was… was just a regular kid." Her voice broke and a tear leaked down her cheek. Inuyasha's hand squeezed lightly.

"Tell me, where were you when the bodies were found?" Inuyasha reached back and smacked Miroku upside the head, causing the other detective to yelp in surprise.

"She was with me, you dumbass, on the other side of town!"

"Oops. Sorry, old habit." Inuyasha only narrowed his eyes and snorted. Kagome nodded. "I think that's all for now." He turned off the recorder. "Do you need someone to give you a ride back to Inuyasha's?"

"That-that would be good. I don't have my car." She took several deep shaky breaths, trying not to cry in front of the detectives. It was bad enough she had kept Inuyasha awake most of last night.

"If you feel you can drive, you can take my car and I'll make dumbass here drop me off."  Kagome gave him a slight smile.

"Thanks Yash, but I don't think I trust myself behind a wheel just yet."

"No problem, I'll get one of the uniforms to take you home." Miroku replied as he got up and left the room. Inuyasha turned to Kagome, noting that she had not even touched her soda.

"You ok?" She nodded and smiled at him. "Liar." He reached up and moved some hair from her face. "You have my number if you need anything, right?"

"I do. Thank you for being so sweet through all of this."

"What'd you expect, for me to tell you to suck it up?" He chuckled. She laughed with him a little, but he could tell it was forced. He stood up and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Go home and get some rest. There's food in the fridge when you're hungry. Remember to keep the doors and windows locked." She nodded just as Miroku walked back in with Hojo in tow.

"Kagome, this is Hojo. He'll take you home." The uniformed officer dipped his head slightly. Kagome smiled her thanks and got up to leave, kissing Inuyasha on the cheek as she did. Hojo held the door open and let her walk past. He was about to follow when Inuyasha grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back into the room. Hojo gave a surprised yelp and found himself looking straight into Inuyasha's burning gold eyes.

"If anything happens to her, I'll have your skin and your badge. Got it?" Hojo gulped and nodded vigorously. Inuyasha half dropped, half shoved him away and he scrambled from the room.

"Was that really necessary?" Miroku asked coolly.

"Until we know what is going on, I'm not taking any chances." Miroku chuckled as they walked out.

"Let's go see what Sango has for us." The two detectives stepped out of the hallway and into the main office of the precinct. The room was bustling with activity, people hurrying to and fro, others on phones, and still others flipping through files. In the corner was a small room sectioned off for the chief's office. The windows to the small room had blinds that were open, so they could see the older woman sitting behind her desk. She appeared to be waiting for something.

"What'd you do this time?" Shippou asked. He was a young detective with long red hair and bright green eyes. Unlike Inuyasha and Miroku he was all but fresh off the beat, and did not yet have two cases under his belt. His partner was a young shepherd mix named Max. The dog was a specialist at finding people, alive and otherwise.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha huffed.

"Chief wants to see you?"

"And what, pray tell, makes you think we are in trouble?" Miroku cooed. Shippou shrugged.

"Nothing really, just hoping I guess." The young man ducked as Inuyasha took a swing at his head. "Anyway, I have to get going. There is a missing person that need to be found. Hopefully, they'll be alive when I find them." The older detectives did not answer as they changed course and headed into the chief's office. Kaede looked up at them and Inuyasha took a seat in front of her desk as Miroku shut the door.

"You wanted to talk to us?" Inuyasha huffed. Kaede gave him a tolerant look.

"Yes, but specifically I wanted to speak with you, Inuyasha." She leaned back in her chair and studied him. "It has come to my attention that one of the victims is an acquaintance of yours."

"Yeah…" He replied in a slow guarded voice.

"How?" Inuyasha sighed.

"He's my girl's little brother." Kaede leaned back in her chair and studied the two detectives. Her aged brown eye seemed to weigh her options. After several minutes she leaned forward again and folded her hands on her desk. Her single eye made contact with Inuyasha's, and a mild, humored smile touched her lips.

"If you were anyone else, Inuyasha, I would pull you from this case because you are too close to the victim. However, knowing you as I do, you would simply proceed to track down the perpetrator with or without my consent. So, here is what I will do. I will allow you to continue to work this case as long as, 1) the connection between yourself and the victim is not found out, and 2) you keep your control at all times. I want this investigation by the books. Is that understood?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha replied plainly.

"And Miroku, I expect you to keep him in line."

"Will do, Chief."

"Feh."

"Good, now get going."

&&&

Miroku and Inuyasha stepped into the precinct's morgue as they pulled on their latex gloves. Sango stood with her back to them as she typed away at her computer. Souta and the other victim, assumed to be Tony Hillard, were laid out on metal tables covered in light blue sheets. The whole room had an overly sterile feeling, and was a few degrees colder than normal room temperature.

"What have you got for us, Sango?" Inuyasha asked as he grabbed the back of Miroku's coat, before he could let his hands get the best of him.

"Hold on just a second." Sango answered distractedly as she finished what she was doing on the computer. After several more minutes she saved her work and turned to them, a file in her hand.

"Ok, I'll start with the unidentified victim. I place the time of death about an hour or so before the victims were found, for both." She moved to the table and flipped back the sheet. "The stab wounds are all post-mortem. And I believe the cause of death, is the blow to the back of the head." She motioned them around to the victim's head. Carefully, she took some of his hair between her fingers and lifted a flap of skin, hair and all, completely away from the skull. "It seems that the perp grabbed his hair here and used this hold to slam the head against a solid object." She carefully turned the boy's head so they could see the back of his skull. Amidst the hair the detectives could make out bits of torn flesh and broken skull. Sango reached off to the side and retrieved a small plastic bag from a tray. "I also found these in the head wound."

Miroku took the bag back from her and held it close to his face. Inside were a number of small grayish stones. Most were covered in blood, but there were a couple in a smaller, inner bag that had been cleaned.

"What is it?"

"Concrete. Small pieces of concrete."

"What about the bruises?" Inuyasha asked.

"Those are pre-mortem, but their randomness makes me think they were caused by the boy being jostled about in an enclosed space." She covered the boy up with the sheet again and moved around to Souta's body. "Now… this one is more… interesting…" Sango chewed her lip, trying not to remember this victim was her friend's little brother. She flipped the sheet back.

"You ok, Yash?" Miroku asked casually.

"I'm fine." He snapped back.

"The stab wounds to the chest are both post and pre-mortem." Sango pushed forward, "But none of them are the direct cause of death. This one," She pointed to a large wound to the chest, "Punctured the right lung, causing it to fill with blood that made it's way up the throat, where he choked on his own blood. Here," She pointed to the sides of his mouth, "You can see bruising from where a gag was in his mouth. There are also rope burns about his wrists and ankles."

"Could those have been caused by the fact they were tied to barrels when they were found?" Miroku interrupted.

"No, they have bruising consistent with pre-mortem injuries. Also, look at this." She lifted up one of the hands.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"His nails, they're clean."

"So?"

"I have a little brother, and his nails aren't this clean after a shower. Neither of these boy's nails even have dirt under them."

"Couldn't the river have washed it away?" Miroku provided.

"Not likely. Also, smell." She lifted the hand and motioned for the detectives to take a sniff. Both complied hesitantly.

"Smells like bleach." Inuyasha frowned.

"They both do. I think the perp washed the bodies after he was done to get rid of any evidence he might have left behind."

"So, this guy knew what he was doing."

"But if he washed the bodies, why dump them in the river?" Miroku mused, "It has a very similar effect."

"And most bodies are dumped in the river in hopes of them not being found for a long time, if at all." Inuyasha added, "But these were tied to barrels so they floated. Why?" Miroku sighed.

"Lets go file this information and find the other victim's family. It won't give us any more answers, but I don't think we have any other leads right now. Thanks, Sango." Inuyasha nodded as they began to head out the door.

"Wait." Sango stopped them, "There is… one more thing." She looked at her feet and shuffled a bit.

"Well, what is it?" Inuyasha snapped irritably.

"Souta was also… sodomised."

"What!"

"Miroku told me to leave no stone unturned, so I did a rape kit on both boys. No DNA deposit, but I did find wood splinters in Souta. Pine, if that's relevant." The free-swinging doors slammed against the outer wall as Inuyasha stormed out. Miroku flinched at the sound, but showed no other signs that the outburst affected him.

"Thanks again, Sango. Call me if you find anything else."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_Hey everyone. I've gotten a few reviews asking about some of the terms that have been used in the story_**. Sodomized:**_ 1) To subject to an act of sodomy, especially forcibly. 2)_ _Practice anal sex upon. … Umm, yeah. If that isn't clear enough, feel free to e-mail me and I'll be happy to explain it more in depth… not pun intented.___

Closing the Case

Chapter 4

The two detectives walked down the hallway of the plush apartment building. The floor was covered in clean red carpet and the walls were a soft cream. Inuyasha could not help but snort at the extravagance, knowing his yearly salary probably would not cover even the first month's rent. A side-glance at his partner told him that the dark-haired detective was no happier about their surroundings.

One thing that they had learned on the job was that the more money people had, the more obnoxious they became. For some reason they felt they were more entitled to justice then their poorer counterparts and that their cases deserved more priority. More then once this tendency had lead to suits against the precinct and some of the officers for gross incompetence. Still, they had a job to do.

Miroku pushed the up button on the elevator and they waited. The doors binged open and out stepped Shippou and Max. The young detective raised his eyes from his dog to his superiors, a slight scowl on his face.

"I'm not helpless you know. I can talk to one lady about a couple of missing kids without you two looking over my shoulder."

"Feh! Like we have nothing better to do then harass you." Inuyasha snapped.

"We came to confirm the ID of a victim of our homicide case." Miroku replied calmly. Shippou scowled.

"Let me guess, his name is Tony Hillard." Shippou asked flatly.

"Yeah." Miroku replied. Shippou sighed and patted his dog on the head.

"Looks like we lose out to homicide, boy." Inuyasha took the file from his hand and rubbed the young redhead on the head like he too was a dog.

"Don't worry runt, we'll let you do the paperwork."

"Pardon me if I don't jump for joy." Shippou huffed indignantly, straightening his hair. Inuyasha chuckled as they passed him and stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and the lift moved up; the soft notes of the elevator music humming around them.

"I guess you'd like me to do the talking as per usual." Miroku stated calmly as he pulled the Polaroid of the unidentified victim from his coat pocket. Inuyasha grunted non-communicatively. "Something on your mind, Yash?" The white-haired detective shrugged.

"This case just feels funny, too many weird occurrences." Miroku nodded his agreement.

"We'll solve this, Yash. It'll come together in the end."

"I don't think I could live with myself if we didn't." Silence stretched between them for a long moment. "Miroku? What do you think the odds of Souta being a homicide victim are?" Miroku looked up towards the ceiling of the elevator, watching the slowly rising numbers as they climbed higher in the building.

"As good – or bad, as anyone else I guess. Why?" Inuyasha shrugged.

"Just a thought." The elevator binged and the doors slid open. Miroku stuffed the Polaroid back into his pocket as they stepped out into the brightly-lit hallway. They walked down the hall until they reached the door with the number 2469 in gold letters. Calmly, Miroku knocked. A moment later a slightly older woman answered. She looked like she had been crying.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Doris Hillard?"

"Yes."

"I'm Detective Miroku Priest and this is my partner Inuyasha West. We'd like a moment of your time, if we could?"

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I just gave my statement to the detective who was here a moment ago. Kitsunebi or something like that."

"Yes ma'am, we know. We met him getting off the elevator. But we're from homicide."

"Homicide?" She repeated, stepping back to allow them entrance. Mrs. Hillard closed the door behind them before leading them into a plush living room. They took the seats offered to them, but declined the drinks. Once they were settled, Miroku took the Polaroid from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table.

"Ma'am, is this your son?" With shaking hands the woman reached out and took the picture. She brought it close to her face as if she was misreading a word in a book and needed confirmation. Slowly, a tear rolled from her eye and she nodded. Miroku stood and moved to her side, carefully taking the picture from her hand and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Inuyasha stood and moved away from the scene. Miroku could handle the woman, but the whole thing made him uncomfortable. Calmly he took in the room, hoping to find something that might help the case. The apartment was decorated in cream and beige, with hints of gold. The furniture was all made of rich cherry wood and mahogany. The hardwood floor was covered in a beautiful Persian rug and a stylish display case filled with expensive porcelain dolls stood against the wall. Inuyasha could practically smell the money in the room. He heard Miroku offer the woman a card for the precinct's psychologist/grief councilor, Kagura Gale, and knew it was time to go. They exited the house and headed back to the elevator.

"How'd she take it?" Inuyasha asked disinterestedly.

"As well as can be expected." Miroku answered with the same enthusiasm, "Sad really. A few minutes before we arrived her son was missing, now she knows that he's been dead for almost 24 hours."

"But a missing person has to be missing for 24 hours before it can be reported. Maybe that should be changed; it is the most critical period of a kidnapping."

"Maybe, but then every time a teenager misses curfew we'd have to search the city. Besides, it wouldn't have changed things this time." Miroku answered, Inuyasha snorted.

"Miroku, did you catch the décor of that place?"

"What about it?"

"Any piece in there could have covered both our monthly salaries several times over." Inuyasha huffed in distaste.

"Sucks, don't it." Miroku chuckled, "Some people have more money then necessary while the rest of us scrounge for scraps. You thinking ransom?"

"No, and that's what bothers me. It's like this Tony kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most of the… damage was done to Souta's body."

"Killer ran out of steam." Miroku suggested with a shrug.

"Then why clean the bodies afterward?"

"I don't know." The dark-haired detective looked at his watch, "Look, it's getting late, I need to get home to Kanna and you to Kagome. Let's go file things away and call it a night." The elevator binged and they got off.

"How is your niece doing anyway?"

"Better. Not great, but better. It's not easy for a four-year-old go through what she did. But I think getting back into a normal life with school and all is helping."

"I told you that psychologist was cracked. Keep her home and have her home-schooled my ass."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are all-knowing and I should always submit to your superior intellect."

"I knew you would catch on eventually."

"Fuck you, Yash."

&&&

Sango yawned as she walked into her apartment. It was small and sparsely furnished, but it was the best she could afford on her salary and still provide her brother with all he needed. Both their parents had jobs that were always taking them to different places, around the country and the world. Sango had never attended the same school twice, and usually two or three in the same year. She had volunteered to take in her little brother in order to keep him from the same turbulent childhood.

"Kohaku, I'm home." She called into the house, but got no answer. Shrugging, she walked back towards his room, figuring he was engrossed in a video game. At the end of the hallway she knocked lightly before pushing the door open slightly. The room was dark, not even the TV was on. Sango pushed the door the rest of the way and flipped on the lights. "Kohaku?"

The room was empty. Blinking in surprise she went to check the rest of the house. He was not in the living room, the bathroom, or her room. She was just starting to get worried when she found a note on the kitchen counter.

_Hey San,_

_We need some milk and bread. Ran down to the corner store to get them. Be back in a few._

_Kohaku.___

She turned the note over to see if there was a time written anywhere. Finding none, she sighed and made a mental note to remind him about his note writing skills. For all she knew this note could be a week old. With a shake of her head she turned to the refrigerator, then changed her mind and picked up the phone to order pizza.

Miroku had ordered a full autopsy and then some on both bodies. The work had kept her up all last night, but under the special circumstances she understood. Now all she wanted to do was kick back, have dinner with her younger brother, and get a good night's sleep.

Sango hung up the phone and crashed in the living room to wait. Picking up the remote, she flipped on the TV and searched for something good to watch.

&&&

Inuyasha stuck his key in the lock and opened his front door. It was already pretty late, the sun had set over an hour ago and his stomach was demanding food. He did not bother to turn on any lights, expecting Kagome was already asleep. He was greeted however with the soft glow and hum of the TV in the dark apartment.

Following the light and noise he found Kagome curled up on the couch with a TV dinner on the coffee table in front of her. Her eyes were glazed as she watched some cheap sci-fi movie with a giant crocodile. The large afghan his mother had given him was tucked around her and pulled up to her chin. As he entered she turned to look at him.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No. Every time I closed my eyes I could see him lying there." Inuyasha moved to the couch and sat down near her feet. Kagome turned around without getting up and placed her head on his leg. Calmly, he ran his hand through her hair and listened to her soft sigh of contentment.

"You need sleep. Let me get some dinner, then we'll go to bed."

"Ok… Stay like this a little longer?"

"I can do that."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Closing the Case_**

_Chapter 5_

Sango slowly opened her eyes, the ceiling slowly coming into focus as she blinked the sleep away. The first thing that hit her was that it was not her ceiling. The ceiling of her room was smooth and a soft cream color. The ceiling overhead was rough and chalk white.

She sat up slowly; her muscles protesting from the awkward half-sitting position she had fallen asleep in on the couch. The TV was on and the pizza box sat open, showing the pie with three missing pieces. Bright sunlight poured through the window. Sango stretched and rolled her neck, listening to it pop and crack.

As she climbed to her feet, her eyes fell on the wall clock and she groaned. She should have been at work an hour ago. As she made her way down the hall to the cordless phone, the incessant buzzing of her alarm caught her ear. She changed course to turn the irritating piece of machinery off, passing her brother's room on the way.

Suddenly, she stopped. The door was standing open, just as she had left it last night. The bed was made, albeit none to neatly. A Game Boy sat haphazardly in the middle of the mattress. From all appearances the bed had not been used recently. Sango felt the bottom fall out of her stomach.

Sleepiness and sore muscles forgotten, she rushed back into the kitchen to look for a new note. _He probably came in after I fell asleep and did not want to bother me._ She reassured herself. Frantically, she began snatching up each piece of paper she saw, turning them over and scanning each quickly. She came up empty. In the hallway the phone rang. _He's calling to let me know where he is. I'm going to kill him for scaring me like this!_ Sango snatched the phone from the cradle.

"Kohaku?!"

"This is Kaede, dear. Is everything all right? You did not clock in at your normal time."

"Kohaku didn't come home last night! There's no note, no message, and his bed doesn't look slept in!"

"Calm down, dear. He's a young boy and probably just forgot." Kaede soothed, knowing how upsetting the situation was under the circumstances. "If it makes you feel better, I will send Shippou and Max out to help you. Don't worry about work today, I will just take a day from your sick leave and we'll requisition another M.E. from the city."

"Another M.E…?"

"Another body was just called in. Same M.O. as yesterday. Miroku and Inuyasha are already on their way."

"Oh."

"Shippou will be there in a half an hour."

"Thank you, Kaede."

&&&

Miroku held up the yellow tape as Inuyasha ducked under. Uniforms were already combing the area for evidence. A group of people, including several children, were standing off to the side of the taped-off area giving statements. The body was lying on the riverbank, covered in a white sheet. Hojo came bouncing up to them in his usual manner and gave them each a pair of latex gloves.

"Same apparent M.O. as the last body, but this one was tied to a large piece of wood to keep it afloat. The people over there saw the body floating by from the park. The parents are pretty upset and I've already called Miss Gale in case any of them need counseling."

"Good." Miroku waved him off before turning to his partner. "Kaede said Sango hasn't shown up for work yet, so we should be expecting a stand-in ME. I'll go talk to the witnesses and you hover over the body to make sure everything is done right." Inuyasha nodded, and turned towards the body, a uniform falling into step behind him.

Crouching next to the body, he waited for the uniform to prepare his pad and pen before lifting the sheet. It was clean of blood and soaked in river water. Stab wounds decorated the chest and stomach, and bruises dotted the skin. He furrowed his brow, looking for things Sango had pointed out on the other bodies. There were light bruises at the corners of the mouth, indicating a possible gag. As he worked he read everything off to the uniform, who wrote it down in quick short hand. When he finished, he stood and took in the scene as a whole.

From this new angle something about the body struck a chord in him. His face twisted into a scowl. The face, he knew it from somewhere. A friend of Souta's perhaps? Or maybe he'd passed him on the streets. His mind cast about, trying to place the face. After a minute a framed picture came to mind, a picture that sat next to Sango's computer in the morgue. His stomach twisted. That could not be right. He'd never even met the boy in person, they probably just looked similar. In fact, if he squinted his eyes just right he looked a lot like Souta as well.

"Oi, Miroku." The other detective turned away from the witnesses to see his partner looking out over the river, his hands in his coat pockets. Excusing himself, he moved to his partner's side.

"What is it, Yash?"

"Tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing." Miroku looked down and Inuyasha watched the color drain from his face.

&&&

Sango opened the door to let Shippou and Max in. The dog looked up at her with a happy grin, oblivious to the worry that plastered her face. Shippou held the leash firmly as he took out a pad and prepared to ask the standard questions.

"When was the last time you saw your brother?"

"The day before last. I was at work all the night before last. When I got home last night there was a note on the counter saying he had gone out to get bread and milk, but there was no date or time, so I don't know when it was written. When I woke up this morning, I passed his room and his bed didn't look slept in." Shippou took everything down on his notepad, a grin playing in his mind. One nice thing about working with other people on the force was their ability to anticipate questions. He also noted that she had placed what appeared to be a pillowcase in a plastic bag and a recent photo.

"Well, I think you've covered everything." Shippou stood up and put his things away. "Let's find out if he made it to the store, then we'll work from there." Sango nodded numbly. Grabbing the pillowcase and photo, they headed out of the apartment. Shippou opened the passenger's door for Sango before placing Max in the backseat and getting behind the wheel. The small general store was only a block and a half away, but for Sango the drive seemed to take an eternity.

The bell over the door gave a cheery ring as they walked in. The store had a slight chill to the air, and the bright flourescent lights gave off an unwelcoming glow. Short shelves were stocked with a variety of foods in cans and bags. Along the back wall, foods that needed to be kept cool were held in glass-door freezers.

"Hey! You can't bring that filthy animal in here!" A stout, balding man in his mid-thirties barked at them from behind the counter. Shippou gave him a charming smile he had picked up from Miroku as he showed his badge.

"Don't worry; we aren't going to be here long."

"I don't know what you heard, but I run a clean business here!" The man rose from his rickety chair, his chubby hands forming fists, as if he was ready for a fight.

"Sit down, I'm with Missing Persons." Shippou groused, showing his badge, "And I just want to ask you a few questions. But if you make this any more difficult than it has to be, I've got a few good friends who would be happy to go over this place with a fine-toothed comb." The man sank back into his chair, but still kept a suspicious eye on the two. Shippou ignored the look and pulled the photo of Kohaku out. "Did you see this boy yesterday, perhaps in the late afternoon or evening?" The man took the picture and brought it close to his face. After a moment of squinting, he pulled a pair of reading glasses from his shirt pocket.

"Maybe, I see tons of people every day." He answered vaguely.

"He would have bought milk and bread." Shippou added, trying to keep his temper as the man dug in his heels.

"Like I said, I don't remember." Shippou gritted his teeth and growled in the back of his throat, a trait he'd picked up from Inuyasha. Sango, however, had reached the end of her rope. Before either of the men could react, she had reached over the counter and grabbed the man by the front of his stained shirt and yanked him to within an inch of her face.

"Did you see my brother or not!?" Shippou's eyebrows shot up behind his bangs as he realized she had lifted the large man off his feet. Even if the rickety counter supported most of his weight, it was still an impressive feat. The man sputtered in shock for a moment, before turning again to belligerence.

"You can't do this too me! This is assault and I'll have you arrested!" He shot Shippou a look. "Well! What are you waiting for?!" The young detective gave him a smirk.

"I'm waiting for you to tell the nice lady if you saw her brother or not." The man sputtered again.

"Fine! Fine! I saw him. He was here about 7 or so."

"Did you see anyone with him, or anyone following him after he left?" Sango was bearing down on him, slowly twisting his shirt tighter around his thick neck.

"No, I didn't see anyone!"

"If you are lying to me," Sango growled, "No one will ever find your body." She dropped him so abruptly that he nearly fell face first over the counter. Shippou had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as he followed the enraged M.E. out of the store. Once outside Shippou composed himself and took out the plastic-encased pillowcase. He pulled it open and lowered it to Max's level.

"Max, find." The dog took a long whiff of the offered scent before lowering his sensitive nose to the ground. The dog took several minutes of pacing the concrete sidewalk back and forth before he caught the scent he was looking for.

The going was slow at best. Thousands of people had walked along the sidewalk since Kohaku had been there and Max had to stop and double back a few times to re-catch the scent. Finally, the shepherd mix turned down a small alley. Even though it was daytime, Shippou had to take out a flashlight so they could see. Not two steps into the alley they found a large paper bag.

Pulling Max to a stop, Shippou took a pair of white gloves from his pocket and looked into the over-turned bag. Inside were the remains of a crushed milk carton, a torn-up bread bag, and a receipt from the general store. The food itself had long since been picked over by strays. The young detective reached into his pocket and pulled out a spare pair of gloves and handed them to Sango.

"I don't have any large evidence bags, so I need you to hold this." She nodded and did as he told her. "Ok, Max, find."

The dog took off again, nose to the ground. But the search was short-lived. They came to a stop again just beyond the alley where concrete met asphalt. Max paced the edge of the sidewalk, whimpering, seeming to know he had lost the scent and would not find it again. Shippou soothed the anxious canine with a "sit" and a pat on the head before turning to Sango.

"I'm sorry, Sango. It looks like they got into a car. There isn't anything else I can do." The older woman nodded numbly, her hands trembling and nearly dropping the bag. "I'll take you home." Sango could only nod again.

&&&

Shippou helped the ME to a chair in the living room. He had promised to do all the filing of kidnapping reports for her as soon as he hit the station doors. All she seemed to do was nod. The young detective knew people could go through drastic changes over a missing loved one, especially if said loved one was a child, but this was the first time he had experienced it first hand with someone he knew.

"Let me get you some water, then I'll go file that report for you." Sango only nodded again. The young woman did not really see Shippou leave; her mind was a million miles away, chasing questions without answers. When the doorbell rang, she did not hear Shippou tell her he would get it. In fact, she did not even realize she had left the chair until she was looking into a pair of sad violet eyes.

Something in her chest seized, and Sango blinked a couple of times, trying to understand why. Miroku and Inuyasha stood in her doorway, the former staring at her with concern, the latter looking anywhere but into her eyes.

"Sango, I'm so sorry." She could see Miroku's mouth moving, but she could not seem to make out the words. The ground seemed to spin beneath her feet before it fell away completely. Someone shouted her name before the world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Closing the Case_**

_Chapter 6_

"Sango please! You need to calm down and rest! You are going to hurt yourself!"

"Shove it, Miroku. I am not letting some two-bit, city-requisitioned, just-got-out-of-medical-school bimbo take over my case. Especially when a screw up could mean that-that-that _monster_ would go free!" Detectives and uniforms alike scrambled out of the way as the M.E. and homicide investigator stormed through the precinct. Inuyasha and Shippou, Max at their heels, followed at a safe distance.

"They're kind of scary…"

"Just be glad you don't have to work with them every day like me, Runt." Shippou stared after the two arguing forms and shook his head.

"You are a brave man, Yash. I'm so glad my partner is easy to work with. A few treats and scratches behind the ear is all it takes to make him happy."

"So you two have that in common?"

"Bite me."

"No thanks, I got work to do. And you're going to help me." Inuyasha took the younger detective by the arm and pulled him towards a back room. Max followed, panting happily.

"Me? What?"

"I either get to ask you or I get to ask Sango, and frankly you're safer."

&&&

The doors to the morgue opened with a loud bang as Sango stormed in. A young, blond M.E. stood, scalpel poised over Kohaku's body, her eyes wide in surprise. Sango growled deep in her throat. The blond's surprise turned to annoyance. Miroku stepped in, managing to catch the free-swinging doors before they hit him in the face, only to find himself in the middle of a stand-off. It was the blond who finally broke the silence

"I don't know who you think you are, but I am working on a serious investigation here. You will have to leave." Sango growled and Miroku took a step back.

"This is my case, my morgue, and my brother. Now get out!"

"So, you are the delinquent who abandoned her job and left me to clean up the pieces." The blond gave her short hair an arrogant flip. "Well, I'm sorry, but you can't just change your mind on a whim. There are peoples' lives at stake and I'm sure the chief will be relieving you of your duties soon anyway. So why don't you move along, so I can get back to work." Miroku's eyes widened and he reached out to catch Sango's shoulder before she had to be charged with assault.

"Mrs…?"

"Kesler, _Miss_. Norma Kesler." The blond replied, sauntering around the table and extending her hand to him. Miroku's eyes drifted down to the woman's ample chest, before they snapped back to her face. With an angry Sango well within arms reach, he did not want to test his luck.

"Miss. Kesler. My name is Detective Priest, and my partner and I are the investigating officers for this case. And, while I'm sure you are wonderful at your job, it is rather important that Sango complete this autopsy." The woman seemed to puff up before his eyes.

"And why is that?"

_Because I value my life._ Miroku thought dryly. "Because it is a serial killer case and she has examined the other bodies. Therefore, she knows what to look for to confirm if this body belongs to the same case or if it is a copycat."

"Fine. But when she skips out on you again, just look me up. In fact," Norma scribbled something onto the edge of a clipboard before ripping it off and handing it to him. "Call me anyway." As the swinging doors closed, Miroku unfolded the paper to see a phone number written in fine script.

The young detective had the slip of paper halfway to his pocket when the feeling of eyes burning holes in his skull stopped him. He raised his eyes to meet Sango's. With his most charming smile, and an inward sigh of regret, he tossed the scrap of paper in the trash.

&&&

Inuyasha closed the door to the small back office as Shippou took a seat at the folding table. The procedure was fairly normal; he often gave statements when one of his missing persons turned into a homicide. The table was covered in papers and files, stacked in a semi-neat order. Across from him was a map of their jurisdiction. There were thumbtacks of different colors stuck in it without any pattern. Shippou knew from experience that the red tack marked the body location, the blue marked the place they were last seen alive, and the green was the victim's home address.

Next to the first board was a rolling chalkboard that was empty, for the most part. Two pictures, one of Tony Hillard already dead and one of Souta playing in the park, were taped to the board. A thin line connected the pictures with the word "friends" written along it.

Shippou waited silently as Inuyasha moved to the map and placed a red tack near the park along the river, then moved to the chalkboard and taped the picture of Kohaku next to Souta's. Finally, he took a seat opposite Shippou and extended his hand expectantly. Shippou placed his report in it without protest. Inuyasha opened it and began flipping through it, before standing up and placing a blue tack and a green tack on the map as well. When Inuyasha returned to his seat, he turned his chair so he could see the two boards.

"All right. Tell me what happened." The homicide detective instructed. Shippou took a deep breath and told him everything from the time Kaede had sent him out, until the moment Sango had fainted. Inuyasha chuckled when Shippou recounted the incident in the general store but waved off the younger detective's questioning look.

"Now what?" Shippou asked.

"First, we have to wait for confirmation that this is really the same guy and not a copycat. Then, if it is the same perp, we'll see if we can establish a pattern."

"What are you going to do until then?"

"The autopsy should take a few hours at least. So I'll probably grab some lunch, check on Kagome, and bring something back for Miroku. You?"

"Probably go pick up my little girl and take her out to lunch."

"Wait, when did you have a kid?" Inuyasha almost choked, "Hell, when did you get married?"

"Last week, and I didn't. I adopted. I wanted a kid and got tired of waiting for the right woman to come along." Shippou answered with a shrug. "The papers went through last week. Here." He pulled out his wallet and handed Inuyasha a picture. "Beautiful, isn't she? Her name is Kirara."

In the picture was a little girl about 7 years old with short straw-colored hair and large blue eyes. She was clutching a stuffed cat in one arm and had the thumb of her other hand in her mouth. The little girl was dressed in a cute blue sundress.

"She's a doll. You know, Miroku's niece is about her age."

"Really? Maybe we can set up a play date. Kirara could use some friends."

&&&

Miroku came home exhausted. He had spent the better part of the day trying to keep Sango from running herself into the ground. He understood that different people handled grief in different ways, but he had never seen anyone dive into their work with such vigor. It made him want to solve this case that much sooner.

The autopsy had proven that the case was connected to Souta's, but they were finding a pattern hard to pinpoint. The boys were different ages, went to different schools, and ran in different social circles. Granted they both came from an oriental background, but the other boy, Tony, was of Italian descent. Though Inuyasha had pointed out that said boy seemed to have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only other connection was that they both had somewhat abstract connections to their precinct, a connection they were not willing to accept just yet.

Miroku hung his coat on the coat rack near the door before moving deeper into the apartment to locate his niece. It did not take long to find her. She was sitting on her bed with a Game Boy Advanced cradled in her hands. Her tiny, pale fingers tapped away at the buttons. White hair framed dark eyes and a pale face. The GBA binged and squeaked as she worked the buttons.

Miroku did not have to ask what game she was playing. He had bought her the Pokemon Ruby cartridge just last week as a present for getting through her first full month with a new therapist without event. She had been playing it nonstop ever since. It had actually been a good choice. The need to trade and interact with other players to complete the game gave her a chance to interact with other kids her age. That, more then anything, had allowed her to become social again. After a moment she placed the game down and looked up at her uncle.

"Did you have a good day, Uncle Roku?" Miroku smiled softly and crossed the room to sit on the edge of her bed.

"It was as good as it could have been, Kanna. How was school?"

"It was fun. We colored pictures. And did crafts. And I got my first homework assignment."

"Really? What is it?"

"I got to read this book." She climbed off the bed and toddled over to her backpack. A moment later she returned with a limp, brightly colored paper book. She climbed back onto the bed and placed the book in his lap. He looked down at the large, block letters: 'Jane and the Big Blue Cat'

"Is it any good?"

"I have to read out loud to you."

"Ok, you read to me and then we'll order some dinner. How does Chinese sound?"

"Can I get noodles?"

"Sure. Now," He lifted her up to sit on his knee. "Let's hear you read to me. I bet it's a good book." Kanna opened the book on her lap to show her uncle the large pictures and big bold words.

"Jane had a cat. It was a big cat. It was a blue cat. Jane l-l-loved her cat." Kanna turned the page. "The cat loved Jane too. They loved to play in the sun." Kanna turned the page again just as Miroku's cell rang.

"Hold on, sweetie, Let me answer this." Kanna nodded and began to study the new picture before her. "This is Miroku, talk to me."

"Hey, Miroku, it's Yash. The press has gotten wind of the murders and Kaede wants us to prepare a statement for a press briefing tomorrow."

"Can't we do it in the morning; I'm helping Kanna with her homework."

"Sorry, the briefing is scheduled first thing. Why don't you bring her over? Kagome can help her with her homework while we work and I'll get Shippou to bring his little girl over to play as well."

"Shippou's little girl? When did he get married or have a kid?"

"He adopted."

"Oh." Miroku blinked in surprise, "Are you sure it's ok, with Kagome I mean?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Hold on, Yash." Miroku turned to look down at his niece. Kanna had made her way to the end of the book looking at the pictures. Now she was looking back at her video game with yearning. "Kanna, how would you like to go visit Uncle Yasha and Aunt Kagome?"

"Can we make cookies?"

"I bet Aunt Kagome will make cookies with you, after you finish your homework."

"Yay!" Miroku brought the phone back to his ear.

"I think that's a yes. We'll be there in a few."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:**_ A number of you have pointed out that an officer would be taken off a case that they had an emotional investment in. This I know. So why did I do it anyway? 1) Because, Inuyasha would never trust Kagome's safety to some one else. Even in the series Inuyasha rarely leaves Kagome with Sango or Miroku unless there is no other option. 2) Because it's more dramatic. =P _

****

**_Closing the Case_**

_Chapter 7_

Inuyasha opened the door to greet Miroku and Kanna. The little girl released her uncle's hand and raised her arms to him in the universal sign to be picked up. It amazed him how far she had come so quickly. The first time they met she had stood on his doorstep with a blank expression on her face and clinging to a mirror that had belonged to her mother. It took several more visits over a few months to get her to warm up to him. When Kagome came into his life and met the young girl for the first time, he got to watch the process all over again. But after several years of therapy, and now her first year of school, she had become much easier to get along with.

The white-haired detective reached down and lifted the girl into his arms. She gave a small squeal when he tossed her into the air and caught her. The sound must have attracted Kagome, because when he turned around she was standing in the doorway leading into the living room. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple green tank top. For one fleeting moment she had the strangest look on her face, and then it was gone, replaced with surprise and a little annoyance.

Kanna struggled to be let down and he complied. The little girl ran across the room and lifted her arms to be picked up by Kagome instead. Kanna wrapped her small arms around the older woman and gave her a hug.

"Uncle Roku and Uncle Yasha said you would help me with my homework, and then we could make cookies," The girl chirped happily.

"Did they now?" She shot an annoyed look at the two detectives over the little girl's shoulder.

"Uh huh. I want to make chocolate chip cookies! Can we make those please, Aunt 'Gome?"

"Homework first, then cookies," She agreed. Kanna jumped down and retrieved her backpack from Miroku, before running back to Kagome. The older woman took the moment to give the detectives a hard glare. The two disappeared into the living room to read the book, with Kanna talking about her school day and her new game.

"I find it safe to assume that you did not tell her we were coming," Miroku drawled.

"Feh, I just wanted her to stop moping."

"Is there really a press briefing tomorrow?"

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Then let's get to work." With Kagome and Kanna in the living room, the detectives took their work to the dining room. The small table was set in a small dining room with two chairs that did not quite match. A third folding chair had been set up in anticipation of another guest. They had barely gotten seated when the doorbell rang again.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome's voice held a slight edge as it drifted in from the living room.

"I think you should have told her," Miroku whispered. Inuyasha nodded his agreement before he left to answer the door. Miroku noted that he took the long way around so he would not have to pass through the living room.

Inuyasha opened the door to find Shippou and his new daughter standing on the step. The little girl was clutching a stuffed cat and looking around curiously. Her blond hair had been cut so it was neat and straight. She was dressed in a small pair of jeans and a black shirt with the word 'Meow' on it in big pink letters. Shippou stood next to her, holding her free hand, and looking the very picture of a proud new parent.

"You must be Kirara," Inuyasha said and squatted down to the girl's level. She blushed and moved to hide behind Shippou's leg, muttering a tiny hello. Inuyasha chuckled and stood back up. "Hey, Runt, thanks for coming. Kagome and Kanna are in the living room and we'll be working in the dining room."

"You want me to help?"

"You are already involved, might as well." Inuyasha shrugged and led them into the living room. Kagome had the book open on her lap with Kanna snuggled up next to her reading the words. They both looked up as the three entered. Kagome gave the young detective and his daughter a smile, before casting Inuyasha 'the look'. Kanna moved closer to Kagome, trying to hide from the new people. It seems old habits died hard.

"Kagome, Kanna, this is Shippou and his daughter Kirara. Shippou's helping us with some things. You don't mind if Kirara helps you with the cookies do you?"

"Of course not." Kagome smiled and motioned for the girl to join them on the couch. Kirara looked up at her father for reassurance before accepting Kagome's offer. Inuyasha led Shippou back to the dining room where Miroku was waiting.

The detectives took their respective seats and set to work. Press briefings were touchy subjects at best. They had to give enough information to make the reporters happy, but not too much at the same time. Too much information would make copycats harder to identify, and may make the perpetrator feel like they were too close and flee. They also had to consider the people involved. Finally, their words had to be carefully chosen. Reporters were infamous for twisting meanings to make a story better. They also had to come to a decision on how many questions to take and which reporters to take them from.

The girls finished reading the book, and soon sounds and smells of cookie production filtered into the room. Inuyasha smiled when Kagome began to sing softly. The girls joined in her song, both off-key. By the time the detectives had made all their decisions, several dozen cookies had been made and were cooling on the counters.

Kagome stacked some onto a large plate and brought them into the dining room, setting it in the middle of the table. The girls made stacks on smaller plates for their respective father figures.

"Hey, where is my personal plate?" Inuyasha pouted as he covered up their work. Kagome smiled and took a seat on his lap, feeding him a chocolate chip cookie. "Never mind, this is better."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Miroku protested as he covered Kanna's eyes, "There are children present." Inuyasha lifted a surprised eyebrow.

"So that's what it takes to stop you."

"Yash, you have cookie crumbs right there," Miroku replied, using his middle finger to indicate the spot. The white-haired detective could not hide his smile even as he wiped his mouth.

"So, what are you three so busy doing in here?" Kagome interrupted before the two could get going.

"Press brief." Shippou answered, "All the fun of a root canal and twice the pain."

"They can't be that bad. Besides, then that reporter will be happy and stop coming here looking for you." Kagome answered as she started to get off of Inuyasha's lap. She gave a surprised yelp when he pulled her back down. The amusement from Miroku's banter had faded into concern.

"A reporter came by here? Did you say anything to him?"

"Yeah, but he wanted to talk to you. I told him you were at work." She replied, confusion becoming evident in her voice.

"You didn't open the door did you?"

"I'm not stupid, Inuyasha."

"I know, but reporters are sneaky little sons of… worms." He managed to correct his language under the dark glares of the other two detectives. "Which reporter was it? I'll make sure he doesn't bother you anymore."

"It was that one you don't like."

"That only narrows it down to every reporter he's ever met," Shippou offered as he took a bite out of a cookie. "Kirara, honey, these are wonderful!" The girl beamed.

"He's got a point. Yash doesn't like reporters as a general rule," Miroku agreed, "Of course, the same can be said for anyone who's been on the force long enough."

"It was that one with the long hair. His name starts with a K or a C I think. He hit on me that one time you wouldn't put our date on hold for an interview."

"Kouga?"

"Yeah, that was it, Kouga."

"He interrupted a date for an interview?" Miroku asked. "He's either brave or stupid."

"He's stupid." Inuyasha assured, "Don't worry about him, Kag. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you anymore. And if anyone else comes by, don't say anything to them, ok."

"Yes, Your Majesty," She replied dryly.

&&&

Miroku straightened his tie as he stepped up to the podium. Bright flashes from fifty or so cameras attempted to blind him and reporters were already shooting off questions, all vying to be heard. Miroku took no notice of them as he straightened his notes and coat once more. When he finally did lift his head, the din of voices rose in pitch before dropping to nothing at the signal of his raised hand. At the back of the room he could see Inuyasha leaning against the wall near the door, looking disgruntled with all the activity.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of the press," Miroku began. "You have been called here to help quell the rumors regarding the bodies that have turned up in the East River. While we lack a suspect at this time, we have a number of significant leads that we hope will bear fruit. We have three bodies connected to this case, all male and all under the age of fourteen. In respect for the families, we can not release their names at this time. The public is advised to not linger around the river at any time, for any reason, and never to visit the area alone. If there are any questions, I will take them now." The room once again erupted in sound as the reporters stood and shouted to be heard. Miroku took it all in stride, pointing to a red-haired woman in the front row.

"Sara Rictor, City Gazette. Do you yet have a theory about why this person is killing these children?"

"We do have a theory, but we are not ready to discuss it at this time," Miroku replied coolly. _Translation: we don't have a fucking clue._ Inuyasha thought as he shifted his position in the back of the room. Miroku directed a thin man with glasses to ask the next question.

"Roy Taylor, Daily Bulletin. You said that you don't yet have a suspect, but do you at least have someone you are looking at as the perpetrator?"

"As I said, we have no suspects at this time."

"So, three children are dead and you are sitting on your hands," A young, brash reporter called out before anyone could stop him. Instantly, the room filled with the sound of scratching pens on pads. In the back of the room, Inuyasha growled. The reporter was the very one he wanted to have a word with. Kouga Prince, the star field reporter for Pack News and the bane of every detective on the force. Kouga seemed to have made it his personal mission in life to point out and exaggerate every mistake they made. Inuyasha and Miroku had the good fortune of being his favorite targets.

"I would hardly say we are sitting on our hands. We have already gathered sufficient evidence to hold any suspect."

"But you don't have a suspect, and while you're sitting around eating donuts there is a madman out there killing children." Inuyasha watched as Miroku let out a slow breath, a calming technique he had tried to teach Inuyasha without success. A pleasant smile crossed the dark-haired detective's face.

"Mr. Prince, I know that you, like everyone else, are very concerned for your loved ones. But we are investigators and our job requires us to take a step back from the situation and look at it from an objective point of view in order to be fair to all involved. It is not justice for us to arrest the first person who crosses our path and charge them with whatever crime suits our fancy. We must follow the evidence to its ultimate end, then and only then, will we have achieved justice and made the streets safer for all. Now if you will excuse me, I have a job to get back to." Miroku made a show of restacking his papers and walking away from the podium. Reporters shouted questions after him, but Miroku never faltered.

As his partner disappeared out a side door, Inuyasha ducked out of the room as discreetly as possible. He waited outside the pressroom as the reporters started to filter out. Most of them were too busy taking notes or calling their editors to notice him. Those that did, knew better then to bother the white-haired man.

Kouga was one of the last to leave, followed by his camera man. The reporter yelled animatedly into his cell phone, something about getting the story on at 6 rather than 8. Kouga gave a loud yelp and dropped the phone when Inuyasha grabbed the back of his shirt. The camera man all but dropped his equipment in surprise, but did not follow at Inuyasha's barked order. Kouga gave a loud protest, but Inuyasha ignored him, shoving the reporter into a small side room where Miroku was waiting. Inuyasha shoved Kouga into a chair while Miroku shut and locked the door behind them.

"What do you two think you're doing? I know my rights!" Kouga protested.

"Fuck your rights." Inuyasha snapped back. "Kagome said you were snooping around my apartment yesterday."

"So? What of it?"

"Why were you there? That's private property, jackass!"

"None of your business. I have Freedom of the Press."

"That may be," Miroku stepped in before the yelling turned to blows, "But that only covers your rights in a public setting, not a private one. A dwelling, be it a home, apartment, or cardboard box on a street corner, is private property. Freedom of the Press ends where the rights of private citizens began. _And_" Miroku continued before Kouga could interrupt, "While, Inuyasha and myself are not private citizens because of our jobs, our homes are still private. Therefore, you were trespassing."

"Maybe I was just looking for a good lay."

"Son of a bitch!" Miroku managed to hold Inuyasha back, but only just.

"Kouga," Miroku spoke through clenched teeth under the effort of restraining his partner, "trespassing is a crime, so you can either answer the question or we can arrest you. Inuyasha, calm down!" Inuyasha gave a final growl before snorting and turning his back. Miroku sighed and looked pointedly at Kouga.

"Fine, I was following a tip."

"What tip?"

"I don't have to give you my sources," Kouga defended.

"I don't care about your sources, just about the tip that brought you to Inuyasha's doorstep." Miroku clarified. Kouga did not answer right away, looking instead at the far wall. When he did look back, his blue eyes had taken on a strange edge.

"That Kagome had moved there."

"What?" Inuyasha growled. "So it's trespassing and stalking!"

"I'm not stalking her, fucker. But when one of the city's 'finest' leaves a crime scene to go see his girlfriend, and that very night said girlfriend moves in with him, it brings up a lot of questions." Inuyasha looked away and Miroku shifted his weight. Their silence spoke volumes to Kouga's well-trained ear. "It was her brother, wasn't it? One of the victims was Kagome's little brother. And one of the others was your precinct M.E.'s; Sango or something like that."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha snapped. Kouga gave a bark of laughter.

"Shit! This story keeps getting better and better! I can see the headlines now: 'Kop Kid Killer'. This story is going to make my career!"

"You can't go public with that, it could ruin our case!" Miroku protested. "Besides, how is Kagome going to feel when you rub salt in her wounds?"

"Hey, she already turned me down for dog-shit over there," he replied callously. "I know when to cut my losses. And you know what they say, 'you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs'. This will definitely make the 6 o'clock." Kouga pushed past them, a skip in his step and a smile on his lips. "Nice chattin' with ya boys. We should do it again soon." He reached for the doorknob, when Inuyasha's voice stopped him.

"What's it going to take?" Kouga turned back, a little surprised. Inuyasha's head was bowed, his thick bangs hiding his eyes. "What's it going to take to keep this quiet?" Kouga lifted an eyebrow and Miroku looked on with wide eyes.

"I don't think there is anything you have that I want." Kouga replied, turning to leave again.

"We'll give you the exclusive." Inuyasha offered his voice soft but decided. There it was, the magic words of the news world. Kouga turned back slowly, as if he feared his ears had deceived him. Inuyasha had not moved.

"_You two_ will give _me_ the exclusive." The reporter studied them through narrowed eyes. "You have a deal, but only if I get it in writing."

"Done." Miroku replied.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **_hides behind her flame proof shield Sorry this chapter took so long. School and work are in full swing and I just got a little busy. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. And remember, if you kill me, you'll never find out what happens._

****

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 8

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Yash?" Miroku asked. The two detectives had spent the better part of the day chasing leads, all of which had been dead ends. They were both tired and frustrated, and they had yet to get anything to eat. Miroku turned the car into a small, out of the way café where they could grab a quick sandwich. "We're handing ourselves over to Kouga on a silver platter. He could ruin our careers."

"I don't want to see her cry anymore," Inuyasha answered flatly, "She's cried herself to sleep every night this week. As soon as that news hits the streets, there'll be reporters all over the place. They'll all want an interview. She'll be a prisoner in that apartment."

"She'll be mad if you throw away your career."

"Only if she finds out." Inuyasha retorted, looking pointedly at his partner. Miroku decided it was better to just change the subject. He leaned out the window and placed an order with the drive-through machine, before pulling around.

"So she's really that broken up? She seemed fine yesterday."

"You know Kagome," Inuyasha replied as he passed Miroku his half of the bill, "She wants everyone to believe she's strong. She grew up too fast if you ask me."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Miroku replied, leaning out the window to exchange the money for their lunch, "You read a few of your mother's psycho-gibberish books and it makes you an expert."

"Fuck you." Inuyasha unwrapped his turkey and cheese and took a bite as Miroku pulled back into traffic. "So, what's next?"

"Lady on Fifth Street claims to have seen a dark-skinned male forcing a younger dark-skinned male into a blue car."

"Not to be confused with the Caucasian female on Seventh or the Hispanic male on Edward." Inuyasha spat.

"Don't forget about the alien abduction theory we got on Jefferson," Miroku added.

"God, I hate the day after press release." Inuyasha griped, "Everyone wants their fifteen minutes." Their banter was interrupted by the ringing of Miroku's cell. The dark-haired detective looked at the small screen to see who was calling. His face twisted in concern as he brought the phone to his ear.

"This is Mr. Priest." Inuyasha lifted an eyebrow; Miroku only answered personal calls that way. Miroku's face contorted again as he listened. "I did not take my niece out to lunch. And I did not authorize anyone else to do so either." He paused, "Of course I'm sure! My partner is right here with me. I'm coming, don't let anyone leave!" Miroku snapped the phone closed, turned on the sirens, and pulled a U-turn that made Inuyasha swear like a sailor.

"And you say I drive like a maniac!" Inuyasha yelled over the screaming sirens. "What's the story?"

"The secretary said that a man with a note I signed took Kanna out to lunch an hour and a half ago. He hasn't brought her back yet."

"And they didn't call to make sure you actually gave permission? Fuck!" Inuyasha grabbed onto the door handle as Miroku made a sharp turn. Miroku did not respond, too engrossed in dodging the cars that could not get out of his way fast enough.

They pulled up to the school twenty minutes later and Miroku all but flew out of the car and into the building. Inuyasha leaned across the seat and took the keys out of the ignition before following. He found his partner at the secretary's desk, giving a petite red-haired woman a piece of his mind. Inuyasha knew better than anyone that it took a lot to get Miroku angry, but one sure shortcut was through Kanna.

"What do you mean you just let someone walk off with her!?"

"Sir, please calm down. I'm sure she is fine. We'll call the police and I'm sure everything will be ok."

"I am the police!" Miroku slammed his fist on the counter. Inuyasha came up and placed his hand on his partner's shoulder. There was an old saying, 'never work on your own'; and despite the nature of their current case, both detectives believed in it. There were just too many emotions involved when the victim was someone close.

"Ma'am, I'm detective Inuyasha West. Can you tell me what happened?" He flashed his badge for her to see.

"A man came in and gave me a note signed by Mr. Priest saying that he was to take Kanna Priest out for lunch with her father."

"Really?" Inuyasha replied. He drew himself up to his full height so that he towered over the woman. It was a classic, yet subtle intimidation technique. "And it never occurred to you to call Mr. Priest before you let him walk away with the child?"

"He insisted that it wasn't necessary and Mr. Priest was busy. The signature looked authentic." Her voice wavered slightly under his cool gaze.

"Tell me Miss …"

"Mrs. Jackson."

"Mrs. Jackson. Tell me, do you know that Kanna Priest is a special needs child?"

"No, I just started this week."

"Did you know that by allowing an unknown person to take Kanna without express permission from her legal guardian, you are aiding in Kidnapping and Child Endangerment, both felonies?" Inuyasha watched as all the color drained from her face. Miroku snorted.

"But I…"

"Do you still have the alleged note?"

"Yes, it's here." She pulled open the desk drawer in front of her and reached for the scrap of paper.

"Don't touch it." Inuyasha snapped and the woman froze. The white-haired detective pulled a pair of white cloth gloves from his pocket, he found it was always wise to keep a pair on hand, and pulled them on as he moved around the desk. He picked up the piece of paper and took a long moment to examine it. The handwriting was a very neat script with an elegant signature that did indeed read Miroku Priest. It was a forgery, a very good one, but a forgery none the less. He pulled an evidence bag from his other pocket and dropped the note into it, then carefully put it away.

"Did you see the vehicle the man was driving?"

"Yes, it was a black SUV."

"Small, large, any distinguishing features?"

"Small… it think, Explorer-ish… but looked expensive, like it had a lot of special features." She put her finger to her mouth as she thought. "It had a lot of silvery trim." Inuyasha nodded and stripped off the gloves.

"Ma'am, we're going to need you to come with us."

"Am I under arrest?!"

"Yes, ma'am, but I'd prefer not to cuff you if I don't have too. It upsets children. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him or her present during your questioning. If you can not afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you, if you wish. Do you understand each of these rights as I have explained them to you?" The woman nodded numbly. "Answer verbally, please."

"Yes." Her voice shook slightly as he took her by the elbow and led her out of the office. By this point, several school officials were looking on with great interest. And a class of first graders, standing outside the office waiting to leave on a field trip, looked on with wide eyes. Mrs. Jackson was red with embarrassment. Miroku trailed behind them in silence.

Inuyasha placed the woman in the back of the squad car and shooed Miroku to the passenger's seat so he could drive. The trip back to the precinct was strangely quiet. Miroku did not say a word the whole way back and the woman kept making a strange whimpering noise in the back of her throat. When they arrived, Miroku got out and walked into the building without a backwards glance. Inuyasha followed shortly, escorting Mrs. Jackson. A uniform met him at the door.

"Chief wants to see you."

"Another body?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ok, take Mrs. Jackson down to booking and get her printed and photographed. Then go to Elister Elementary School and have the teacher of Kanna Priest come down to the precinct ASAP for questioning. I'll deal with Mrs. Jackson personally when I get back. She's already been read her rights. And put an APB out on a fully loaded, small, black SUV with a lot of silver trim. A male driver and a small girl, about 7 years old. The girl has hair like mine, only straighter." The uniform nodded, took Mrs. Jackson by the elbow, and escorted her away. "Did you see where Miroku went?" The uniform pointed and Inuyasha went to collect his partner.

Inuyasha found Miroku trying to crawl down Shippou's throat. The younger detective was taking it all in stride, reminding Miroku to keep calm and that he would handle it.

"Miroku, go take a breather." Inuyasha instructed, pushing his partner into a nearby chair before turning to Shippou. "I've already sent someone to the school to instruct her teacher to come in after work and Mrs. Jackson is down in booking." He turned to his partner. "Another body was just pulled from the river, you think you can handle it, Miroku?" The dark-haired detective did not respond. Inuyasha frowned. "And Shippou, call Kagura before you leave. I'll catch a ride with Sango." He turned and hurried towards the morgue before the M.E. could leave.

He found her in the morgue just picking up her field bag. There were bags under her eyes and her hair was a mess. Inuyasha was willing to bet she had not slept well lately. As he walked in, she looked up at him.

"Miroku's niece is missing; can I get a ride with you?"

"Kanna's missing?"

"Yeah, but we're on top of it. She's only been gone about two hours, so he doesn't have too much of a head start."

"That's terrible!" He took the bag from her as they headed out the back door of the precinct, "Do you think it was her father?" Inuyasha shrugged and shook his head.

"Possibly, but I don't want to jump to conclusions."

"I hope she's found okay. That poor girl has been through enough as it is." Inuyasha nodded in agreement as they ducked into Sango's old Honda. She turned on the car and pulled out of the parking lot, taking the first right towards the river. "How's Miroku?"

"Have you ever known him to go for over an hour without saying anything that wasn't shouted?" Inuyasha answered.

"I've never heard him shout. Period." Sango's voice twisted with concern.

"I've only seen Miroku lose his cool once. That was the day Kanna was brought to him. She was so small and thin, you could count her ribs. And all those scars. Miroku spent a lot of time with a punching bag that night. All that after seeing her mother kill herself."

"At least Miroku can give her some semblance of normalcy."

"Yeah…" They fell into silence, watching the world pass outside.

"How are you holding up?" Sango asked quietly.

"Girlfriend's a mess, haven't gotten a full night's sleep in almost a week, three…" he paused and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "Umm… no clues on the case, a goddaughter who's vanished, and a partner who's probably not going to be much help for a while. I'd say I'm fucking craptacular. How about you?"

"Tired, can't sleep."

"We'll find him, Sango."

"That won't bring Kohaku back." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"I know, it won't bring Souta back either." Sango pulled the car to a stop outside an area blocked off with yellow tape. Uniforms were milling about; Hojo was waiting for them just outside the tape.

"What have we got?" Inuyasha asked.

"Same MO as the others, but this time it's a girl and she's younger." Hojo answered.

"Damn, he's changing his choice in victims." Inuyasha held up the tape for Sango, before following her towards the body. The scene was a lot like the others had been. A few witnesses were off to one side being questioned and uniforms were combing the area for evidence. The body was covered in a clean white sheet, blotted in river water and blood. Hojo trotted after them as he continued.

"Those people found the body floating by, but did not see or hear anything suspicious. They said the body was still warm to the touch and it is still bleeding."

"Probably hasn't been dead long." Sango provided.

"Anything else?"

"Nothing new." Inuyasha nodded in understanding and waved the boy off. The M.E. and detective squatted down next to the body. With a flip of his wrist, the sheet came back. Beneath was a small frail body, beaten and bloody, her white hair tainted with blood, river water, and mud. Stab wounds cut into her small chest and stomach. Blood also stained her dress near the top of her legs.

"Oh, Kanna. No…" Inuyasha dropped down to his knees next to the small girl. Sango brought her hand up to cover her mouth, stifling a sob and the bile that was rising in her throat. Carefully, she reached out a gloved hand and brushed a lock of hair from the child's face. Suddenly, she paused and placed her hand on the girl's face; then quickly moved down to her throat to press two fingers into her pulse point.

"She has a pulse! Inuyasha, she's still alive!" The detective threw off his coat and wrapped it around her small body.

"Kanna! Kanna, sweetie. It's Uncle Yasha. Open your eyes for me, sweetie! Someone call an ambulance!" The scene erupted in pandemonium. Sango did her best to field-dress the wounds, Hojo called 911, Inuyasha kept attempting to wake Kanna, and the uniforms hurried to preserve the evidence before anything could be destroyed.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:**_ clears throat As you may or may not be aware has been having some issues with deleting fic unfairly. So along with some other authors I am going to be posting my fic and updates 48 hours later on then on other sites. If you do not wish to wait, you can look up my accounts on , , or _

****

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 9

Inuyasha walked into his apartment to find Kagome sitting on the couch watching TV. There was a box of Kleenex sitting on the coffee table and her eyes were red and puffy. Inuyasha sighed inwardly; he loved her, but he just did not feel like dealing with anymore tears right now. He just wanted to change out of his blood-stained clothes and get back to work. But he could not just leave her like this.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine." Her voice cracked.

"You're crying again." He stated as he pulled off his coat and gun holster so he could take off his shirt.

"No, it's-it's just the movie… it's so sad." She hiccupped, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose.

"You shouldn't watch movies if they make you cry." She turned in her seat to look at him, probably to give him a piece of her mind, but whatever she had to say died on her lips.

"Oh my God, Inuyasha, you're hurt!" She almost fell off the couch trying to get up, before running over to him. Kagome grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the couch, pushing him down.

"Kagome –"

"What were you thinking? You should have gone to the hospital!" She dashed from the room before he could stop her. "Take that shirt off so I can dress those wounds, then I'm going to drive you to the hospital." Inuyasha sighed and obediently removed the garment. Kagome came back into the room carrying his rather substantial first aid kit. "What do you keep in here? Your own surgical equipment?"

She set the kit down on the coffee table with a thud and opened it. She pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, peroxide, and some clean gauze. Carefully she poured some of the alcohol onto the gaze and began wiping away the blood on his chest and arms. It did not take her long to realize that the blood was not his.

"You're not hurt…" The emotions on her face went from fear to relief to anger. Suddenly she stood up and smacked him up side the head.

"What the fuck! Why'd you hit me?" Inuyasha yelled jumping to his feet and rubbing his head.

"You scared me! I thought you were hurt!"

"If you'd stopped to listen for two seconds you would have know it wasn't my blood!"

"Well, I'm sorry for worrying about you! I forgot you were invincible!"

"I never said I was!" Inuyasha shouted, slamming his fist down on the coffee table, making it shudder. "God damn it Kagome! I'm out there busting my ass _for you_, but do you give a rat's ass! No! The minute I get home, I have to listen to your whining! I'm sick of it! I haven't gotten a full night's sleep this week, the press is nipping at my heels, and my own girlfriend is too wrapped up in her own fucking pity party to let me get two words in! Just leave me the fuck alone!" He stormed from the room without looking back, down the hall to the bedroom, and slammed the door as hard at he could.

He stomped across the room to his closet and nearly pulled the door off its hinges in his anger. Grabbing a fresh shirt off the hanger he pulled it on. It took three tried to get all the buttons in the right holes. He kicked off his pants and boxers, which were also blood-stained, and pulled on fresh clothes.

Once he was dressed he paused and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose as Miroku had taught him. He repeated the action several time, each time visualizing the anger leaving his body as a red mist as he breathed out and each in take of air was as a calming blue. When he felt himself calm enough, he picked up his extra coat and stepped out of the room.

He moved through the house to find Kagome. The first aid kit was where he had left it, the bottles still open and the gaze still out, but Kagome was no longer there. He sighed and moved to the kitchen, dinning room, and bathroom, all were empty. Finally, he came to the spare bedroom. He did not have to even put his ear to the door to hear her crying on the other side. Gently, he knocked.

"Kag…"

"Leave me alone…" she whimpered.

"I've got to go back to work; I'll be home when I can." She did not reply, and he sighed.

&&&

Inuyasha walked into the precinct with his hands stuffed into his pockets and his head buzzing. Now more then anything he wanted a cold beer, a warm bed, and about two days straight of peace and quiet. At that moment he made a decision, when this was all over he would put in for a couple of vacation days and take Kagome somewhere, just the two of them. _That is if she'll forgive me. If not, guess then I'll have to use the days to get drunk enough not to care._

He had just pushed the door open to the main office area when someone grabbed the front of his shirt, spun his around, and slammed him against the wall. Automatically his hands came up to defend himself from that attacker, only to come face to face with Miroku. His head was bowed and his dark hair was covering his eyes. Inuyasha could see the muscles of his jaw clinching.

"Is it true?" Inuyasha brought his hands up to grasp Miroku's wrists so he could not inadvertently hurt either of them. "Is what they're saying true? Was it really Kanna?"

"Yes." He could feel his partner shudder, "But she isn't dead. We took her to the hospital, the doctors are taking care of her." Miroku raised his violet eyes to meet Inuyasha's gold. They looked bloodshot with worry and exhaustion.

"Will she…?"

"They don't know yet, it's too early to say." Miroku dropped his head again and began to mutter under his breath. Inuyasha waited silently, knowing that Miroku had always been very religious. When he again raised his head, Inuyasha was met with eyes ringed in a hard, dangerous edge.

"I want this guy crucified."

"Me too. Let's get to work." Miroku nodded and they released each other. Inuyasha lead the way to their back office, where Shippou was waiting. "Are they here?"

"Mrs. Jackson is in interrogation room 4 but the teacher won't be here until 3:30."

"Good. The file is with Sango, and she's still at the hospital. You boys want to watch a master at work?"

"Fuck you, Yash." The younger detective responded promptly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, the other two followed. The precinct's interrogation rooms were small cubes of undecorated concrete. The only window was small, high on the wall, and covered in bars. A large, one way mirror looked into the room. Mrs. Jackson sat uncomfortably in a small wooden chair at a small wooded table. She kept shifting her weight and looking around.

"By the book, Inuyasha. I want evidence we can use," Miroku said pointedly, his voice creaking slightly.

"I know." Inuyasha unlocked the door and walked in and Mrs. Jackson turned frightened eyes to meet him. He showed no reaction as he stripped off his coat, hung it on one of the spare chairs, and took a seat. For a long moment he only watched the woman, and in turn she got more and more nervous.

"You know where I've been?" he asked finally. Mrs. Jackson shook her head numbly.

"I've been at a crime scene. The victim was Kanna Priest." He watched all the color drain from her face as his words sunk in. "The good news is that she isn't dead, yet. Right now she is at the hospital in the ICU, with extensive stab wounds to her chest, and several punctured organs. If she dies, that makes you an accessory to murder." Mrs. Jackson looked like she was going to be sick.

"Oh God…"

"Do you have any kids Mrs. Jackson?" She just shook her head. "Neither do I, but I do have a niece. An hour ago I held my partner's niece, a little girl who I care about very deeply, trying to keep her from bleeding to death. You can't even imagine what that's like. Frankly, I don't blame my partner for not wanting to drop the charges against you. But as of right now, you are the only lead we have on this guy. If you help us, it can get you a lighter sentence. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions, and I want you to answer honestly." Mrs. Jackson nodded.

"What did he look like?"

"H-h-he was just a man."

"That's not very helpful. What color was his hair? What color were his eyes? Was he tall, short, fat, thin?"

"I thought I had the right to a lawyer?"

"You do. Now, what did he look like?"

"Dark hair… black I think." Mrs. Jackson was hiccupping and close to tears. But Inuyasha kept his scowl steady, seemingly unfazed by her distress. "Tall… not too thin… and red-brown eyes… I want my lawyer." Inuyasha leaned back in his chair and looked at her, without blinking. After a minute he got up and left the room, taking his coat with him.

Inuyasha returned to the hallway to find Shippou on his cell phone and Miroku leaning against the wall. The dark-haired man was taking long slow breaths and his eyes were closed. When he did finally look up, Inuyasha saw that the hard, haunted edge had left his eyes. He took another long breath and stuffed his hands into his pockets. If there was one thing that made being his partner so trying, it was his ability to hide almost any emotion he felt behind that damn mask. On the other hand, Inuyasha was grateful for the bit of normalcy again, even if it was a façade.

"Yes, I'll let them know." Shippou flipped his phone closed and turned back to the two detectives. "They found the car. I told them to tow it in, but not to touch a thing lest they wish to have the wrath of all Hell to rain down upon them."

"Where?" Miroku asked.

"On the roadside about a block from the last crime scene, apparently abandoned."

"Looks like Mr. Perfect is starting to make mistakes." Inuyasha smiled and shrugged his coat back on. "Shippou, get this lady her lawyer, but let her stew till we get back."

&&&

Inuyasha and Miroku stepped into the garage. A thin, rough-looking man was unhooking a black and silver Hummer. Inuyasha resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. _Explorer my ass!_

"Well, it is an SUV." Miroku placated, "I think it is, at least…"

"Eye witnesses suck."

"But we knew that already. Let's see if this is the right car." Miroku pat his partner on the back. "UV first or comb for fibers?"

"I got a better idea." He flipped out his phone and hit the speed dial number three. He lifted the phone to his ear and waited, "Hey, Sango. Got a forensic job for ya."


	10. Chapter 10

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 10

"Sango is going to kill you for that, you know," Miroku said calmly.

"Then she'll have to get in line," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Humm, trouble on the home front?" Miroku quipped playfully. Inuyasha did not answer right away. Instead he busied himself sorting through the many evidence bags from the crime scenes, trying to decide what was useful and what was not.

"We had a fight."

"Fight: a disagreement over what channel to watch? Fight: you yelling at the top of your lungs at her because you are grumpy from lack of sleep?" Inuyasha scowled and did not answer. It was all the information Miroku needed. "Smooth, Inuyasha, very smooth."

"I didn't mean to," He defended, "It just happened!"

"As my old man used to say: Miroku, when it comes to women; when you're wrong, you're wrong and when you're right, you're still wrong. Just swallow your pride, apologize, and try not to do it again."

"So you've told me before. But I'm not sure she'll be willing to forgive me this time. Frankly, I don't fucking blame her." Miroku stopped sorting to look up at his partner, his eyebrow lifted in question.

"What did you say to her?" Before Inuyasha could answer, however, the door to their back office opened and Sango walked in. She looked annoyed and tired.

"I think I'll put in for some assistants next time the budget comes around." Sango handed Inuyasha a file, avoiding Miroku's hand rather noticeably. Inuyasha opened it and began to flip through a scowl on his face.

"Can you give us the layman's version?" Inuyasha asked as he glanced over the file. Sango shifted uncomfortably, her eyes flickering towards Miroku. The dark haired detective scowled and narrowed his eyes.

"Just say it." Miroku snapped.

"I had the hospital run a rape kit on Kanna…"

"And!" Miroku pushed.

"We have DNA. But, Kanna's been…" She made a vague motion with her hands, "torn." Miroku cursed darkly and slammed his fist down on the table. "As for the car," Sango hurried on, "I lifted some prints from the steering wheel, but they need to be checked against the database. I have some blood and hair samples that I need to identify. And I'm also going to compare the vehicle's tires to the molds we made at the first scene."

"Get a couple of uniforms to help you," Inuyasha instructed, but his eyes were on his partner as Miroku practiced his breathing exercise again. "Send Shippou this way if you see him."

"I was just coming to see you guys" The younger detective said as he poked his head in the door, "Kirara wasn't feeling well, so I left Max with her. If you guys need him, I'll have to go home first."

"I don't think we'll need him."

"So what did you need me for?" Shippou asked, not sure he liked where this was going.

"I've got a hunch. I want you to get a team together and cross reference mine, Sango, and Miroku's names in everything you can think of. Cases, charity organizations, banks, people we know. Everything." Shippou's eyes widened.

"Bu-but that will take forever. The cases alone could number in the thousands. What am I looking for?"

"I don't know yet, just anything that looks suspicious."

"Goody," Shippou snorted before he and Sango left the room. Inuyasha turned back to Miroku.

"You okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Miroku replied, his most charming smile plastered to his face. _Fucking Liar.__ None of us are going to okay until this is over and that damn lunatic is behind bars. You and Sango are going to work yourselves to fucking death. The two of you deserve each other._ Inuyasha decided not to push the subject and returned to the evidence sorting.

&&&

Inuyasha opened the door to his apartment to find that nothing had changed. The first aid kit was still out on the coffee table and the bottles were still open. The gaze had fallen to the floor. Either Kagome had decided not to clean it up out of spite or she had not yet come out of the bedroom. Knowing Kagome, he bet she was still locked in the bedroom. That did not help his conscience much.

Quietly, he walked to the spare bedroom door and knocked softly. There was no answer. Pressing his ear against the door, he listened. He could not hear anything on the other side, and guessed she was asleep. Without a sound, he went to the kitchen and got his master key. He returned, unlocking the door and dropping the key into his pocket, before pushing it open very gently.

Kagome was sprawled out on the bed with her face buried in a pillow. The covers were wrinkled around her body. Her back rose and fell in the soft rhythm of sleep. Carefully, he walked across the room and sat down near her head. She stirred in her sleep and he reached down to stroke her hair the way she liked, dragging his nails against her scalp. Kagome sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She turned her head to look up at him for a moment, before burying it in the pillow again.

"Kag…"

"Leave me alone. I'll pack my things and stop being a burden on you. I'll be gone in an hour." She moved to get off the bed, but he caught her shoulders and pulled her back down.

"I don't want you to leave, Kag."

"Let go, Inuyasha." She insisted, turning over so she could glare at him properly. Instead he lowered his head, intent on kissing her, but she turned away at the last minute and his lips met her cheek. A soft chuckle rose in his throat and he slowly began to kiss his way towards her mouth. Kagome wiggled and moved persistently, but Inuyasha eventually caught her mouth with his own. It was a deep, slow kiss that pulled a low moan from Kagome's throat. Giving her chin a gentle nip he drew away just enough to look into her eyes.

"The blood was Kanna's." His voice was low and gentle. Kagome blinked glazed eyes at him.

"Kanna's?" Her eyes snapped into focus and she sat up, nearly knocking their heads together. "Kanna's! You mean… she is?" Tears were already forming in her eyes. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close

"No. She's in the hospital. The doctors think she's going to be okay, eventually. Her psychologist thinks it was her habit of freezing and going silent when she's scared that saved her." He pulled her away so he could look at her and took her hands. He studied them for a long moment. "Look, Kag. I'm tired, frustrated, and worried. I lost my temper and you had the misfortune of being the one there when I did. I know that doesn't make it right and if you aren't willing to forgive, me I understand. But will you just stay here until I can catch this guy, so I know you're safe?"

Her hands left his and came up to cup his face, gently lifting his head so she could look into his eyes. His eyes were ringed in dark circled and half-lidded from exhaustion. She knew she had been the one that kept him up late after she knew he had had long days at work. She also knew she had been the one to trigger his outburst.

"And I should have been more understanding. I know you get grumpy when you're tired. I'll stay." He smiled slightly.

"Then I forgive you."

He laughed, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. "You're a jackass."

"But you love me."

"For some unknown reason." This time the kiss was much more passionate. He pushed against her, guiding her down to the bed. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as he put his weight on her. He came up for air and rested his forehead against hers.

"I don't deserve you."

"No, you don't. But I'll keep you anyway," He growled and attacked her.

&&&

Inuyasha woke to the most irritating ringing noise. But sleep seemed intent on keeping him captive. With a great effort he peeled his eyes open. Kagome lay curled in his arms, her naked body pressed against his under the warm covers of the spare bed. A frown marred her face as the ringing repeated. With blurry eyes he rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 8p.m. That meant he had only gotten an hour or so of sleep.

Growling in irritation he got up and began to search for the sound. Kagome whimpered and stirred as she lost his warmth. He stepped over his guns and holster, which lay near the side of the bed, and began searching through the clothes that had been thrown around the room. Eventually he came up with his cell. He blinked at the number, not recognizing it in his sleepy state.

"This had better be really fucking good," he groused.

"Inuyasha? Oh god, I need you to get over here right now!"

"Who is this?" he snapped.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked sleepily from the bed. Inuyasha held up a finger for her to wait.

"It's Shippou! I just got home. The nanny is dead! The place is covered in blood! And I can't find Kirara anywhere!"

"Ok Shippou, calm down. Where do you live?" He grabbed a piece of paper off the night stand and pen from his shirt, scribbling the address down. "I'm coming. Try to stay calm and don't touch anything." He hung up the phone and turned back to Kagome. "Something happened at Shippou's apartment. I got to go."

"Ok." Kagome answered sitting up and watching him as he grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. Five minutes later he was out the door, still pulling on his coat. Kagome sighed and lay back down. She buried herself in the blankets in hopes of getting back to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Important Author's Note:**_ Thanks to encouragement and guidance from Delkiadin and my betas I am now pursuing publication. 'Closing the Case' in now under renovation to become an original piece. When it is sent off to be published, the Inuyasha versions of this story will be removed from all websites. I will be setting up an account at where the book may be processed. I will be keeping everyone up to date on the progress of this venture on my Bio page and my DA journal._

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 11

Inuyasha arrived at Shippou's apartment to find it was in shambles. The door hung limply from one hinge. The chain lock was ripped off the wall. A teenage girl lay spread eagle on the floor with a vertical indentation of the door on her forehead. A check of her pulse revealed that she was unconscious, not dead as Shippou had assumed. A trail of blood led from the door deeper into the flat.

"Shippou?"

"We're back here!" he called back, his voice cracking. Inuyasha rushed towards the sound, passing several places where the blood on the floor, or some times on the walls, was thicker. He found the young detective in a small back bedroom, near a closet. He was kneeling on the floor, clutching Kirara in his lap, tears running down his face. He was rocking the little girl back and forth, whispering nonsense. Max stood next to them his tail up and wagging, blood dripping from his mouth. Inuyasha released the breath he did not know he was holding. "She was hiding in the closet." Shippou provided.

"Is she hurt?"

"I don't think so." Shippou held Kirara away from his body and gave her the once over, "Are you hurt anywhere sweetie?" She held out her arm to show them a bruise that was forming around her wrist. Inuyasha moved over to kneel with them.

"Kirara, can you tell me what happened?" She nodded.

"I was coloring a picture and there was this big knock at the door. Then there was a lot of yelling and a man came in. He grabbed me and I screamed. Then Max bit him. The man started hitting Max, but Max kept biting him. I hid in the closet so the man wouldn't find me. I could hear Max barking and growling and the man yelling. Then it got really quiet for a really long time. Then daddy came and he was crying."

"That's right, Max is the big hero!" Shippou reached out for his loyal partner.

"Shippou, don't touch him! He's evidence." The young detective snapped his hand back and blushed.

"No, he's Max," Kirara corrected. Inuyasha blinked and laughed.

"Right, but I need to take Max with me for a while. I'll get him all cleaned up and then bring him back." He did not wait for her answer before standing up and pulling out his phone

"Who are you calling?" Shippou asked.

"Miroku, Sango, an ambulance for the babysitter, and put an alert out to the hospitals for a man with dog bite wounds." Inuyasha answered then stepped out of the room and placed the phone to his ear. As he spoke, he moved through the house, following the blood trail back to the door. From the amount, he guessed that the man had only lost maybe a pint of blood but some of it could be Max's. When he reached the front room he found the babysitter trying to get to her feet. He helped her to the couch and told her to relax until the EMTs arrived.

Miroku arrived fifteen minutes later and Sango ten minutes after him. The paramedics practically followed in her footsteps. The EMTs checked the babysitter, giving her a prescription for ice and aspirin, while they gave Kirara a clean bill of health and a lollypop. Miroku questioned the babysitter about what she saw, but she turned out not to be much help. When the girl's mother arrived to take her home, the paramedics had to give the woman oxygen after she fainted.

Sango collected several blood samples from the carpets and walls. She also took a swab from the inside of Shippou's, Kirara's, and Max's mouths to rule out any DNA that was their own. When she left she took Max with her, promising to return the dog after she made a mold of his teeth and collected the blood samples from his fur. She also promised to drop him off at the vet's office for a check up and a bath when she was done.

"Where are you going to sleep tonight, Shippou?" Miroku asked.

"Hotel, I guess. We can't sleep here."

"I've got a better idea." Inuyasha interjected. "Let's get the files and go to my place. Kirara can sleep, while we pull an all-nighter. This time we are going to cross with your name too Shippou. These attacks are not coincidences."

&&&

"How's it going?" Kagome asked as she set three more cups of coffee down for them. Inuyasha was slumped down on the couch, a laptop open on his knees. Miroku was slowly shuffling through loose sheets of paper as he sat sideways in the recliner, his legs draped over the arm. Shippou was sitting on the floor, manually going through archive boxes of case files.

"Slow." Inuyasha answered as he clicked a button on his computer and took a sip of his coffee. "It's a lot to go through, and we're not sure what we're looking for. Good coffee, Kag."

"Do you want any breakfast?"

"Is it that early already?" Shippou asked. Kagome looked at her watch.

"7:45"

"Damn." Miroku breathed and rubbed his eye with the back of his hand.

"Daddy says you shouldn't use words like that," Kirara reprimanded. "It's bad. Miss Kagome can I help you cook breakfas'?"

"Sure, what do you guys want?" The answer was a unanimous shrug. "At least you all agree. Come on Kirara." She took the girl's hand and left the room. The boys barely noticed the departure. Soon the smells of breakfast drifted into the room. Kagome returned shortly with plates of eggs, bacon, and coffee refills. Kirara followed her with napkins and silverware. They accepted the food with thankful grunts.

"Hey, I think I got something," Shippou announced, looking through an open file. The other two detectives looked up.

"It's about four years old though. Victim was a young woman about 22, dark hair, dark eyes. Name: Kikyo Arrow soon to be Kikyo Arachna. Her body was pulled from the East River. Death was from stab wounds to the chest. She was raped and beaten multiple times over a week-long period."

"I remember that case." Miroku said, sitting up.

"Me too. It was the first case we didn't get a conviction on as partners." Inuyasha added.

"Her fiancé was really broken up. Kagura assigned him to counseling."

"Why didn't you get a conviction?" Kagome asked innocently. Inuyasha looked at her for a moment, before sighing.

"We had the guy, but not the evidence to hold him. It came down to charging him and crossing our fingers or let him go. He was a big flight risk, if we let him out he'd run and we'd never see him again. We took our chances and charged him, but Sessh couldn't get the conviction on the evidence. Even if we found undeniable evidence against him, our hands would be tied because of Double Jeopardy."

"But that case doesn't include you, Shippou. You just joined the force recently." Miroku pointed out, getting back to the topic at hand. "What made that catch your eye?"

"Actually, I was there. I was a beat cop at the time and the first responder. Sango was the M.E., you two investigated, and Inuyasha's brother tried the case."

"Inuyasha, you have a niece right?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, Rin. Sesshoumaru's pride and joy."

"Even if this is all just a weird coincidence, we should pick her up." Miroku said pointed out. "Where is she?"

"I'm not sure, but I know how to find out." He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for his brother. After three rings, it picked up.

"This is Sesshoumaru West's office, how may I help you." The vapid voice of Yura, Sesshoumaru's secretary, answered.

"This is Inuyasha West. I'd like to speak to my brother."

"Ok, I'll transfer you." There was a beep then the ringing started again. This time it was picked up in two.

"Sesshoumaru West."

"Sessh, it's Yash. Where's Rin?"

"On her way to school," he answered with cool annoyance. "Why?"

"No reason." He answered, even as he and Miroku headed out the door. "Shippou stay here and keep looking."

"Inuyasha Youkia West, you will tell this Sesshoumaru what is going on."

"It's nothing, really. Look, I got to go." Inuyasha hung up before his brother could get going.

&&&

Rin kicked her feet happily as the bus hummed along. Her orange backpack sat on the floor near her feet as she watched the world go by outside her window. She loved going to school and learning things and spending time with her friends. She already knew what she wanted to be when she grew up; a lawyer, just like her father. Her father had reminded her that she would have to study hard, but that just made it that much better.

The bus jolted to a stop and she grabbed her backpack. The children, some older some younger, shuffled off the bus. Rin stepped off the last step and looked up at her school. It was a clean white building with lots of windows. A playground was off to one side, complete with swings, slides, and jungle gym. A large "game" field took up the rest of the open area.

"Rin?" She turned automatically at the sound of her name to face a man she had never seen before. He was tall, but shorter than her father, with long flowing black hair. His eyes were a nice brown, with just a hint of red to them. His clothes looked expensive, but old, like he had not taken care of them in a while.

"Yes, sir?" She answered properly, as she had been taught.

"I'm from your father's office. He needs you to come there right away." He reached out his hand to her, a charming smile on his lips. Rin paused. This man was a stranger, and Uncle Inuyasha was always telling her never to go with strangers. Then again he said he knew her father, and she would be in trouble if she disobeyed. But she also knew some good tricks, thanks to her uncle.

"If my dad really sent you, what's our code word?" The man's smile only widened.

"Demon Lord Fluffy." Rin's expression brightened. Her father really did want her. She took the man's hand and followed him towards the white van parked on the road side.

Suddenly the sound of sirens wailing cut through the air. Heads all turned as a patrol car pulled up, the tires screaming to a halt. The door flew open and her uncle jumped out, gun drawn.

"Freeze! Rin, get away from him!" She did not have time to react. The next thing she knew, the man had grabbed her and something sharp was pressed against her throat.

"Move and she dies!"

&&&

Inuyasha swore darkly as his niece was swept up into the arms of the man and a knife was put to her throat. Students scattered, many screaming, getting out of the line of fire. Miroku was on the radio calling for back up and road blocks. Inuyasha was ducked down low behind the door of his car door with his gun trained on the dark-haired man. The man was several yards from his vehicle, with only Miroku and himself to stop him.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 12

"And we're live in three, two…" The camera man counted down with him fingers, counting the final '_One. Action!_' by just mouthing them.

"This is Kouga Prince, live from the Eye in the Sky over Future Pride Preparatory Elementary School, where a man is having a stand off with police. We have confirmed that the man is holding a young girl, presumably a student at the school, hostage at knife point. The police have blocked off the area and barricaded all the side streets. I have also heard reports that the S.W.A.T. team is on its way. More on this story as it unfolds. Back to you, Walter."

"And we're out." The camera man cut the take and lowered his camera. "Good job, Kouga."

"Yeah," The reporter answered distractedly. He turned in his seat and looked out the open helicopter door. The Pack News helicopter was circling the scene below. Red and blue lights spun on a dozen patrol cars. Some were parked in the street, others were parked in the grass, and a few were positioned to keep a white van from escaping. The police had formed a loose circle around the man, but left enough space so he would not feel crowded. From his bird's eye view, Kouga could see more patrol cars blocking off the streets farther down and children being herded into busses on the other side of the school, lest a gun battle break out. "Get a shot of this."

&&&

Inuyasha swore darkly under his breath. This was not good. Rin hung from the man's arms like a rag doll as he yelled at them and swung the knife around wildly. Miroku had called everything in, even S.W.A.T., a police helicopter and at least three News helicopters circled over head, but the worst part by far was the fact that the man seemed unwilling to negotiate, even with Miroku doing the talking.

"Sir, we would be happy to meet your demand, but first we need you to show us the girl is in no danger. If you could just put the knife on the ground, we can talk about something we can do for you." Miroku spoke smoothly into the megaphone.

"Go fuck yourselves!" The man yelled back. Miroku frowned and looked over at Inuyasha.

"This isn't working. What do you want to do next?" Miroku's eyes shifted over his partner's shoulder, "On second thought, I'll go check on the S.W.A.T. You can stay and avoid the blood spray." Lifting an eyebrow, Inuyasha turned around. His brother was just stepping out of his car, glaring submission into anyone who got in his way. Inuyasha grimaced.

Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha's senior by five year, but his fine-featured face made the distance seem much less. He had a long, unhurried gait and, unlike many lawyers, he kept his hair extraordinarily long, longer than Inuyasha's. His expression was, at best, described as static; he rarely smiled or frowned, making it very hard for anyone to know what he was thinking. What many people did not know was that a frightful temper was held behind his stagnate mask. All this made him a terrible opponent both in and out of the courtroom.

"Inuyasha, you will tell this Sesshoumaru what is going on. Now."

"What the fuck does it look like? I'm trying to save my niece's life."

"By sitting on your ass?"

"Would you like me to shoot wildly and risk Rin's life?" he snapped back. "Look Sesshoumaru, just sit down and let me do my job. I don't strut around the courthouse ordering you around," Inuyasha huffed and turned back to the scene. Nothing had changed.

"Tell him I'll pay whatever amount of money he wants. A ticket to anywhere he wants. Whatever it takes." Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at his brother, sighed, and picked up the mega phone. He doubted it would do any good but anything was worth a shot and it would get his brother off his back.

"Sir, I'm standing here with the girl's father. He's prepared to offer you any amount of money you want, a ticket to any place you'd like, and meet any other demands you have. All he wants is the safe return of his little girl."

"You can tell that hack lawyer to take his blood money and shove it up his ass. No amount of money can replace what I lost! How does it feel, you bastards? To watch something so innocent and so precious being ripped away from you while no one raises a hand to stop it." He pressed the knife more firmly to the girl's throat, and Rin squeaked. Inuyasha sighed and put the megaphone down.

"We'll let him cool off. Don't worry Sessh, S.W.A.T. is suiting up now."

"Inuyasha!" Shippou ran up to them, a file held tight in his hand. "You need to see this." Inuyasha took the file and flipped it open. It was the one they had been looking at earlier at the house.

"What about it?"

"Look here." Shippou pointed to Kagura's report on Kikyou's fiancé, "He blamed the loss of his fiancée on everyone involved. By the end of the session he was swearing revenge."

"A lot of people do that. What makes him so special?" Sesshoumaru asked coldly, though his eyes never left the man with the knife.

"Here's his picture." Shippou held up a picture of the same man who was holding Rin hostage. Only in the picture his hair was well kept, his suit was clean and perfectly tailored, and his arms were wrapped around the waist of a beautiful, happy young woman in an expensive dress. They looked the picture of the perfect couple, without a care in the world. "This is him and Kikyou a few days before she disappeared."

"So what he wants is to hurt us the same way he believes we hurt him," Miroku concluded as he walked up with the S.W.A.T. team captain, Bankotsu.

"Detective." Bankotsu saluted, "What is the situation?" Miroku looked at Inuyasha and something unspoken passed between them.

"Small girl is being held hostage, so use snipers. We don't want to push this guy anymore then we have to, he's not very stable. Let's try to bring him in alive. But if he puts the girl in emanate danger, take the shot."

"Yes, sir." Bankotsu saluted again and returned to his seven man team.

"Now what?" Sesshoumaru pressed.

"We wait."

&&&

"This is Kouga Prince with the Eye in the Sky for Pack News. We are now an hour and a half into the stand off at Future Pride Elementary School. It seems the city's finest have made little progress with the armed man, who is still holding the girl hostage. It has come to this reporter's attention that the hostage is actually Rin West," A small picture of Rin appeared near Kouga's head. Kagome's heart seized and she clutched Kirara a little tighter. "The daughter of Sesshoumaru West and his late wife, Katherine, and niece to Detective Inuyasha West. It is still unclear what this man wants from the police and negotiations seem to be staled. The S.W.A.T. team has arrived, but they have not yet moved in on the man. Perhaps our police are, for once, erring on the side of caution. Back to you, Walter."

"Miss Kagome, what's going to happen to that little girl?" Kirara looked up at her with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Kirara. Inuyasha, Miroku, and your dad will make sure she will be ok. I promise." _I hope._ She added to herself, _Oh Inuyasha, be safe._

&&&

Bankotsu left the detectives to… whatever it was detectives did in these situations. He really did not know or care, his job was to do by force what they could not do through negotiations. Banishing the detectives from his mind, he focused on the task at hand; how to safely rescue the little girl.

Bankotsu surveyed his team as they finished gearing up outside the S.W.A.T. truck. They had named their truck Ginkotsu. It was practically a tank. Inside they kept rifles, hand guns, and ammunition for all calibers. There was also Kevlar vests, helmets, and riot shields – in case they were ever needed.

The first one to spot his return was Jakotsu, a slip of a man with dark hair he kept in a messy knot. Jakotsu was not the kind of man one normally thought of when it came to a job like S.W.A.T. This was not to say his job performance was lacking in any way, it was just a bit odd to know he was also a gourmet chef and the groups fashion critic.

Standing next to Jakotsu was Kyoukotsu. Kyoukotsu was a giant among men – literally. At six foot seven and 370 lbs he looked more like a line backer than a cop – but when he put some one on the ground, they generally stayed there.

Sitting on the steps of the S.W.A.T. truck, his legs swinging below him as he gave their gas masks a final check was Mukotsu. Short, round, and bulbous-eyed he was a stark contrast to the other members of the team. To his credit, however, he was a chemical genius. His basement at home looked like a laboratory, and more then once had brought in some of his experiments to show off. However, his small stature more often then not resigned him to maintenance.

Renkotsu leaned against the side of the truck next to Mukotsu. He was tall, lean, and bald. He always kept his face and head clean shaven because he claimed the hair was a distraction and always got in his eyes when he worked. He often worked with Mukotsu in maintaining the guns. Currently he was giving all of their weapons a last check to make sure they were functioning properly.

Suikotsu, who was also an EMT, was sitting inside the truck checking their first aid kit. He had thick black hair that he kept in a neat ponytail and gentle blue eyes. They had often told him he had a split personality, because despite his generally kind disposition, he became very aggressive and passionate once he suited up – especially when children were involved.

"Alright men," Bankotsu began. All six men looked up from their tasks at the sound of his voice. "Here's the situation: A knife welding perp is holding a six year old girl hostage. Negotiations aren't working. I've been informed that this man has already killed several other children and injured two others. The boys are not willing to take any chances by having us rush him. I'm going up to the roof to set up a sniper shot. The rest of you need to spread out amongst the other uniforms and be ready to move in as soon as the man is neutralized. Is everyone clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" The group stood at attention and gave him a salute. Satisfied, Bankotsu retrieved his sniper rifle from the back of the truck. After reassurance from Renkotsu that it had been cleaned and sited recently, he shouldered it and went back the way he had come.

&&&

Rin whimpered in Naraku's arms as he continued to shout at her uncle. He had seemed like such a nice man, he even knew the code word that only she and daddy knew. Now he was talking about killing her if anyone came too close. All she wanted was to be in her daddy's arms, where it was safe and warm and nothing could hurt her.

"Stop crying! You have no reason to cry!" The man shouted down at her.

"I'm scared! I want my daddy! Why are you doing this?" She squirmed a little but the knife to her throat stopped her.

"Because your father and uncle are bad men. They have to be punished."

"No, Daddy and Uncle Inuyasha stop bad men! They put them where they can't hurt anyone ever again." She pleaded.

"Lies. They lied to you. They let good people die and bad people walk free! But don't worry, they won't lie to you for much longer." The knife in his hand twisted around and he raised it over his head. A loud bang rang through the air and Rin screamed.

&&&

Inuyasha and Miroku stood trying to decide their next move. Negotiating had gotten them nowhere and all attempts to get closer had only put Rin in more danger. Sesshoumaru looked terrible. He was sitting on the passenger's seat of a patrol car, turned sideways, with his feet on the ground. His elbows were resting on his knees and the signs of worry and fatigue were becoming apparent, at least to those who knew him.

"Shit!" Shippou's voice called out, and they all looked up. Naraku was raising the knife. Inuyasha and Miroku both went for their guns. Suddenly everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Atop the school, Bankotsu saw the target raise the knife into the air. The edge of his vision blurred, and he brought the sniper rifle into his shoulder and the scope to his eye. The man's head came into view in his cross hairs. He shifted his view to the left to bring the man's shoulder into his sights. As the man raised his hand, Bankotsu followed the upswing from shoulder to elbow and from elbow to hand. The knife gleamed menacingly in the sunlight as it paused at the height of its arc.

"That's it…" Bankotsu whispered to no one, "Just hold it right there…" He let out his breath and held it, not daring to breathe it least it throw off the shot. He squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed.

Naraku dropped Rin and clutched his injured hand involuntarily. The knife fell to the grass, the blade flashing threateningly in the sun. Rin scrambled away, trying to put as much space between the man and herself as fast a possible. Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippou, and the remaining six members of the S.W.A.T. team rushed forward with their guns raised. Shippou grabbed Rin and retreated as soon as she reached them. The rest stopped only a few feet from Naraku, all guns trained on him

"Put your hands behind your head and get on the ground!" Miroku ordered. Naraku ignored them, still clutching his hand and staggering around. "Get on the ground!" Miroku repeated. Naraku started laughing even as he stumbled and fell into the dirt. Inuyasha holstered his gun and pulled out his hand cuffs. Naraku continued to laugh as he held him down and secured his hands into the cuffs.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him or her present during your questioning. If you can not afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you, if you wish. Do you understand each of these rights as I have explained them to you?"

"Fuck you!"

"I'll accept that as a yes," Inuyasha bit back, pulled Naraku up by his arms and began leading him towards the patrol cars. Naraku, however, decided it was time to fight. He twisted and thrashed in Inuyasha's grasp, and it took all both Inuyasha and Miroku had to force him into the back of the squad car.

The reporters and camera men, which had been held back by the police, swarmed in, all jockeying for a front row picture of the man now locked in custody. Inuyasha hit the hood to signal the two uniforms to take the guy away, and the car pulled off. Other teams were getting into their respective vehicles and leaving, now that the excitement was over.

Inuyasha turned to find his niece crying into her father's arms. Sesshoumaru cradled his daughter, rocking her gently. They were seated in the back of an ambulance while one of the paramedics checked Rin for injuries.

"Rin?" She turned to look at him with wide, blood-shot eyes. She raised her arms to him and he lifted her up, but a scowl still marred his face. "Rin, what have I told you about talking to strangers? What were you thinking?"

"But, Uncle Inuyasha, he knew the pass code."

"He did?" Inuyasha sat down next to his brother.

"Uh huh. He said that daddy wanted me." She rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists, "And when I asked him what the code was he said 'Demon Lord Fluffy', that's our code." Inuyasha looked up at his brother with a questioning eyebrow, but decided discretion was the better part of valor, for the moment.

"Alright Rin, from now on, don't go with anyone you don't know. Do you understand?" She nodded. Inuyasha handed her back to Sesshoumaru. "Sessh, you think you can get me a warrant for this guy's home?"

"I'll have it signed within the hour."

"Don't rush. I don't want any loopholes for this guy to slip through. Besides, I've only slept one out of the last 48 hours. I'm going home and I'm going to bed."


	13. Chapter 13

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 13

Inuyasha walked into the precinct fully rested for the first time in a week. But it was not just sleep that had lightened his step. They finally had the man who had had them chasing their tails. All they needed now was conclusive proof via Sango and, hopefully, a motive to go with it. Though, if yesterday morning was any indication, an insanity plea was in the man's future. Miroku met him at the door to the main office holding a file in his hand.

"Sango came through." He handed the file over and Inuyasha flipped it open. "We have fingerprints on the steering wheel that match Naraku Arachna, along with blood samples from Souta, Tony, Kohaku, and Kanna. She sent out the DNA samples for confirmation, but her in house preliminaries are a match. He also has several wounds on his legs and arms that resemble dog-bite wounds, but we can't get close enough to check them against the molds of Max's teeth."

"Thanks for the update, Miroku. Why can't you get close enough?" Miroku made a face.

"He's proving to be rather violent."

"No shit," Inuyasha replied dryly. "Never stopped us before."

"Let me put it this way," Miroku said as they entered their small side office. The room had been changed from evidence gathering to evidence sorting. Shippou was heading the effort of getting everything in order. Kirara was sitting in a chair in the corner with her stuffed cat and Max at her side. "We are currently holding him in interrogation room ten."

Inuyasha stopped and looked at his partner. Interrogation room 10 was never used except for suspects that were considered 'high risk.' The table and suspects's chair were both stainless steel and bolted to the concrete floor. The one-way mirror was bulletproof and the only door had dead bolt locks. It was the closest they had to a maxim security holding area.

"And he's still fighting?"

"At least he's stopped screaming," Miroku shrugged.

"Has Kagura seen him yet?"

"She's with him now. Oh, and Sesshoumaru called, he plans to have that warrant to us by noon. He wanted to make sure we could strip the wallpaper off the place if it suits our fancy." Inuyasha chuckled and shook his head.

"That bastard really bite off more then he could chew by trying to hurt Rin." Inuyasha turned to look back at Shippou, "I assume your babysitter quit."

"Yeah," He replied with a grin, tapping the ends of some papers on the table to even them. "Couldn't imagine why." Miroku and Inuyasha laughed. Soon Shippou was laughing too, and several of the uniforms followed suit. It really was not that funny, but the laughter just felt good at the end of such a stressful week.

&&&

Sesshoumaru strode gracefully into Judge Toutousai's office. The room was furnished sparsely in dark furniture. The walls were an off white shade and the large window let in a lot of natural light; but the room looked like a cave all the same.

The judge himself was an elderly man, well past the age of retirement. He swore he would die before he retired, and seemed to mean it. Toutousai had large, bugging eyes and wispy, grey hair that he kept in a tiny ponytail. His body looked like skin draped over gangly sticks. Rin had once asked if he was a giant bug.

Sesshoumaru stood before the large desk patiently, waiting to be recognized. Toutousai did not look up from the document he was reading, or make any indication that he had noticed the intruder to his office. The lawyer waited, eyes scanning the many tomes that lined the bookcase; landmark cases up to the 1980s, amendments to older laws Vol. 1 – 32, Official Documents and How to Read Them. The minutes ticked by and still Toutousai stared at the paper, unblinking.

"Dog fang… zzz… swords… zzz… life and death…zzz…" Sesshoumaru slammed his fist against the desk. Toutousai jumped awake, scattering papers in all directions. As he looked around wildly for the disturbance, Sesshoumaru cleared his throat. The elderly judge looked at him, squinted, put on thick glasses, and then smiled.

"Ahh, Counselor West. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I have a search warrant in need of a signature," he replied coolly, extending the neatly folded document.

"Ahhh…" Toutousai sighed, taking the warrant and unfolding it on his desk. After switching to a smaller pair of bifocals, he began muttering as he read. Sesshoumaru pursed his lips the barest amount, used to but by no means enjoying this part of the job. After what seemed a small eternity, Toutousai switched his glasses again and looked up. "This warrant is very… extensive. It says you want the right to seize his," He squinted through his thick glasses at the paper again, "All his pens. And you want to look for… human fluids. Can you clarify this in some way?"

"The man in question is accused of three counts of murder in the first degree, one count of attempted murder in the first degree, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of attempted kidnapping, three counts of rape in the first degree, four counts of child abuse, child endangerment, breaking and entering, assault, forgery, assault of an officer, and resisting arrest."

"And all this took place over one week?"

"Correct."

"Busy man." Toutousai turned back to the paper, switching his glasses, and reread the whole thing. Finally, he looked up, switched his glasses, and gave an almost toothless smile.

"I will sign the warrant as is, but answer me this. Most of these charges will get him life, if not more, why so many?" Sesshoumaru's mouth twitched into the ghost of a frown.

"The victims of these malicious crimes were all children somehow connected to the precinct I work for. Needless to say, several of the officers are up in arms."

"I see," Toutousai replied, leaning back in his overstuffed chair. He seemed lost in thought for a long moment before leaning over the warrant and placing his signature on it. He refolded it carefully and handed it back. "I do hope they find what they are looking for."

"As do I," Sesshoumaru nodded and swept out of the room.

&&&

Inuyasha and Miroku leaned against the wall across from the one-way mirror into interrogation room ten. Kagura sat in the single wooden chair across the table from Naraku, with her back to them. The man was held securely to the chair by handcuffs around his wrists and the arms of the chair. Kagura's dark hair was up in a neat bun, decorated with a pin of feathers and jade. It was a perfect match for her dangling jade earrings. Her voice carried over the intercom; it was strained as if she were doing her best to keep it calm and even.

The whole event was strange to watch. The same man who had been wild, knife wielding, and belligerent yesterday, now sat calmly and spoke in a smooth even voice. One was tempted to think they had the wrong man. But his answers to her questions were at best very cryptic. And he was not admitting anything. Finally, Kagura stood up and left the room.

She looked tired and her clothes were slightly out of place. She wore a simple blouse-skirt combo and low heels. A few strands of hair had fallen out of her careful bun and into her eyes. She took her time arranging herself before she turned to the two detectives.

"What do you think?" Miroku asked. Kagura looked back through the glass thoughtfully.

"I'd like to try something first. Inuyasha, will you step into the room and ask him some questions?"

"What do you want me to ask?" The detective replied as he pushed himself off the wall.

"Anything that comes to mind. I just want to see how he reacts to you." Inuyasha shrugged and walked over to the door. He looked back and waited for his cue. Kagura moved to the mirror and looked into the room. "Whenever you're ready."

Inuyasha pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Naraku turned his head to look at him as he moved to the extra chair. His eyebrows came together and his lips pursed ever so slightly. Inuyasha wasn't sure, but his brown eyes seemed to take on a reddish glow, if only for a second. The detective walked to the wooden chair, hung his coat on the back, and sat down.

"So tell me, what happened yesterday?" Inuyasha asked casually. Naraku narrowed his eyes, "I'm sure there was a logical explanation for what you did."

"Isn't it your job to decide what I did and why? Even one such as yourself can do that much." Naraku answered and Inuyasha lifted an eyebrow.

"And what do you mean by that?" Inuyasha asked, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the cold metal table. A sardonic sort of smile crossed Naraku's face and he sat up straighter in his chair. Inuyasha suppressed a growl. How could this guy be so damn smug?

"Wouldn't you like to know? How did you make detective, by the way? You obviously don't have the brains for it."

"Funny you should mention my brain," Inuyasha smiled almost pleasantly, "because my brain is the only thing that can help you right now. I can guarantee Sesshoumaru will do everything in his power to see that you spend the rest of your life behind bars."

"In your words, 'Feh!' That half-wit, bumbling, dimwit brother of yours couldn't find his nose on his face with a map and the help of you and that dumbass partner of yours, much less convict me of a parking ticket." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. His brother was far from one of his favorite people, but he did not take kindly to anyone insulting him. And no one, no one insulted his partner. Something else clicked in the back of his mind, but he could not put his finger on it. "Frankly, I don't know who I feel more sorry for; him or that brainless bimbo that willingly shares your bed."

Inuyasha visibly bristled, his jaw clenching and his fists gripping the edge of the table. It took all the control he had not to hit the other man. If he did, anything that Naraku said could be twisted into a confession through police brutality. Inuyasha had a sneaky suspicion that Naraku knew that.

"That's enough," Kagura's voice called over the intercom. Inuyasha huffed, grabbed his coat off the chair and stormed from the room. Miroku and Kagura met him on the other side.

"Don't let him get to you," Miroku soothed. "He's just trying to make you slip." Inuyasha snorted and Miroku turned his attention back to Kagura. "What do you think?"

"You want my professional opinion?" She asked, "I think he is completely off his rocker."

"Is that a technical term?" Miroku quipped. Kagura rolled her ruby eyes.

"He seems to have issues with repressed anger, an obsession with his late fiancé, and is prone to violence. The trigger seems to be the people he blames for his fiancé's death - i.e. the two of you, Sango, Shippou, and Sesshoumaru."

"Ok, so why attack the kids if his grudge is against us?" Inuyasha asked. Kagura simply shook her head.

"I don't know."

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru's cool voice called to them. They turned to see the lawyer striding towards them with his normal easy gate, his long hair swaying gracefully behind him. He stopped in front of his brother and handed him a neatly folded document. "Your warrant." Inuyasha took the paper and unfolded it, quickly scanning through it. "It's all there."

"And then some. Thanks, Sessh. Let's go, Miroku."


	14. Chapter 14

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 14

Miroku pulled the patrol car into the parking lot of a huge high-rise apartment building. The walls were a crisp white and each suite had a large balcony jutting out of the building. A large Olympic-sized swimming pool, complete with open bar, shaded and open sun seating, and an attached spa stood off to the side.

"Nice place," Inuyasha snorted.

"Yeah," Miroku agreed, "I bet our collective yearly salary wouldn't cover the down payment." He parked the car in the front and the detectives climbed out. The two walked into the building and were immediately greeted by the landlord. He was a tall, slim man, with greased back black hair and an oversized nose. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed in disgust as he looked down at their less then immaculate attire.

"May I… help you?" His low voice had an unfriendly edge. Miroku put on his charming smile and presented the warrant.

"I'm Detective Priest and this is my partner Detective West. We have a warrant to search Naraku Arachna's apartment."

"Master Arachna is not here right now, you will have to return at a later date. Now remove yourselves from these premises."

"Look you snooty little son of a bitch," Inuyasha snapped, this guy was ruining his good mood, "We know Naraku isn't here, because we have him locked up down at the precinct. As I see it you have two options. One, you can open the door for us without further complain or two we can break down the door and arrest you for obstruction of justice." Inuyasha put on his most pleasant smile, as if he was not even thinking about being threatening. The landlord crinkled his nose, but turned sharply on his heels and led the way towards the elevator.

The ride up to the top floor was uninteresting. They only stopped once and the woman who wanted to get on changed her mind at the site of the detectives, her pure-bred, tiny fuzz-ball of a dog barking protectively at her feet. When they did reach the top floor, the landlord led them to the specified apartment, took a ring of keys from his pocket, and took his time finding the right one. Finally the door swung open to show a clean, neatly kept living room.

"This is Master Arachna's abode." The landlord's voice was edged with irritation.

"Thanks." Inuyasha smiled at him as he pushed the door open and they walked past the landlord. The man followed them looking thoroughly putout.

"In the absence of Master Arachna, I will have to supervise so that you do not destroy anything."

"We aren't going to break anything." Inuyasha huffed and rolled his eyes. "Ever head of the elephant in a matchbox rule?" Inuyasha asked as Miroku handed him a pair of latex gloves.

"No." The landlord snorted.

"It is a rule of thumb, if you will, about searches." Miroku provided, "Basically, it is exactly what it sounds like. If we are looking for a television the jewelry box is not covered by our warrant and anything we find therein would be illegally seized and could not be used in court, no matter how incriminating."

"And the smallest item on our list," Inuyasha grinned at him, "Is a pen. That means we can look through anyplace that a pen could be hidden and if you get in our way it will be obstruction of justice."

"Shall we?" Miroku asked.

"Where do you want to start?" Inuyasha asked.

"Here's as good as anywhere else." Inuyasha nodded in agreement and they began. The landlord watched in horror as they pulled the cushions off the couch, empted the magazines from their holders, removed everything from the entertainment center, and even over turned some chairs to look underneath. While they did not damage anything, they left a big mess. From there they moved to the kitchen, then the dining and the sitting rooms, and finally the study. They carefully searched each room and left each strewn with their once neatly arranged content. All without finding a thing.

"I hope you are satisfied." The landlord huffed crossly, "This is going to take housekeeping hours to get this back in order."

"Not until we search the bedrooms and bathroom." Miroku snapped back.

"No one is allowed in those rooms. Master Arachna won't even let house keeping in there."

"Really?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in interest. The two detectives looked at each other. Without another word they turned and made their way back out into hallway. The nearest door was the bathroom, with the two bedrooms at the ends to the left and right. The door was closed and, when Inuyasha turned the knob he found it was also locked. He wrinkled his nose at the smell coming from inside.

Inuyasha shrugged and took a step back. Miroku put out an arm out to keep the landlord back as Inuyasha settled into a fighting stance. The landlord barely had time to sputter a protest before Inuyasha struck. His foot slammed into door near the knob and the simple lock gave way with a loud crack. The door swung open, banged against the wall, and bounced off. Miroku easily caught it before it could close again.

Both detectives stepped into the room and instantly the smell of bleach hit them. They coughed and sputtered, backing out of the room. Inuyasha covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, while Miroku used a handkerchief. After recovering a bit they stepped in again.

The room was clean for all appearances. There was a tooth brush sitting on the counter near the sink, along with toothpaste, a wooden hair brush, and a nail cleaning kit. The curtains around the bathtub was drawn and the tile floor practically shown. Miroku moved over to the sink counter and picked up the hairbrush and nail kit.

"What do ya think, Yasha, circumstantial?" It was a rhetorical question, because he did not wait for an answer. Instead he knelt down and opened the cabinet. Inside he found several industrial sized bottles of bleach, one of which of which was open. There were also several lengths of rope and a rolled up piece of cloth. Inuyasha had moved to the bathtub and pushed the curtain back.

"But this isn't." The tub was had a thick, reddish brown stain covering most of the bottom, and smelled so strongly of bleach it brought tears to his eyes. The landlord made a gagging noise and rushed from the room. Inuyasha took a small digital camera from his pocket and began to snap pictures. He also got some pictures of the cabinet, and the obvious red ring around the sink drain. "We'll need to call in forensics to come in for this."

"Let's see what he has hidden in the bedrooms." Miroku stood and walked out of the room. He took a right and headed towards one of the bedrooms. This time the door was not locked and opened easily. Miroku's eyes widened as he took in the room. It was in distinct contradiction to the rest of the immaculately kept house. Papers were scattered across the floor and small fold-out card tables. The walls, that Miroku assumed were creamy–gold like the rest of the house, were covered in thousands and thousands of snap shots.

Curious, Miroku moved closer to the nearest wall. It was covered in pictures of Shippou. Shippou as a beat cop, Shippou with his first K9 unit (a Bulgarian Shepard named Sam), Shippou at a crime scene. Moving further down, there was a picture of Shippou retiring Sam, Shippou receiving Max, Shippou and Max in training, Shippou being promoted to detective. There were also tons of picture of Shippou with different women; witnesses to crimes, dates, random people at stores and markets.

As he moved down the wall, the picture began to turn slowly to pictures of Shippou with Kirara; Shippou and Kirara at the park, at school, and even a few of Shippou picking her up from the adoption agency. The most disturbing picture though, was taken just outside of Inuyasha's apartment less then a week ago when Shippou had brought Kirara over.

He moved to the next wall to find it was covered in pictures of himself. There were a lot of him and Inuyasha at crime scenes or having drinks after work. There were also tons of pictures of him and every woman he's ever dated in the last four years. Some were even overlapping. Then the pictures turned to ones of him and Kanna, just as they had done with Shippou and Kirara. One picture, showing him reading her a bedtime story, was taken through the window of his apartment. There was even a picture taken of him and Kanna in front of Inuyasha's apartment, the time stamp showing it had been taken this week.

"Yasha! You better come see this!" Miroku called over his shoulder as he moved around the next section of pictures. The third wall was divided into two sections. One was covered in pictures of Sango, the handful of men she had dated, and Kohaku. The other half was solely of pictures of Sesshoumaru and Rin, due to the fact he had not seen anyone after the death of his late wife.

The last wall was covered in pictures of Inuyasha. Some were duplicates of the ones on Miroku's wall, but most were of different things. There were a few pictures of women he had dated since they had become partners. But more then anything there were pictures of Kagome, with and without Inuyasha, and a handful of pictures of Souta.

"What is it Miro –shit!" Inuyasha's mouth hung open as he stared around the room. "What the fuck?!" He moved closer to Miroku's side and scanned over the many pictures of himself. Miroku pointed to one picture that was faded and had a light coating of dust. It was of Inuyasha, himself, Rin, and Kanna in the park. But the girls were much younger, four and three respectively.

"I remember this day," Miroku commented idly.

"Yeah, you wanted us to use the girls to pick up women. My brother nearly castrated me for going along with it. But this was nearly four years ago."

"But this one was this week." Miroku moved down the wall and pointed to a picture of Kagome reading to Kirara and Kanna. "I'd say this guy has been stalking us."

"Like he was waiting for something."

"Look at this." Miroku moved around the room with Inuyasha on his heels. "Every section ends with pictures of the kids. Remember what Shippou said: _He__ blamed the loss of his fiancée on everyone involved._ And what he yelled while holding Rin hostage; that nothing could replace what he lost. What he did, it was a reenactment of what happened to his fiancée. He wanted us to suffer the same way he had."

"He's getting back at us through the kids. That's sick!"

"His fiancée didn't deserve what she got either," Miroku replied sourly. Both fell into an uncomfortable silence. The photos were all happy memories, pictures that would be welcome in frames in the comfort of home. But here, they felt out of place and surreal. "Wonder what all these papers are?" Miroku muttered trying to fill the silence. Inuyasha grunted.

"I'll take some pictures. You check the papers," Inuyasha said finally, Miroku nodded. Inuyasha lifted his camera and began. The first pictures were of entire walls so they could see the lay out of the pictures on each wall. Then he moved in so what was on some of the pictures could be made out. It took three frames from ceiling to floor and five from left to right, to get an entire wall in.

Miroku picked up a handful of papers off the fold-out card table and began to flip through them. His frown twisted darker and darker. The stack of papers was about Shippou; bills from dinners, vacations and other pleasurable activities, as well as other bills like electric, and water. The top most paper was a copy of Kirara's adoption papers. How Naraku had gotten such a thing, Miroku did not even want to know. He was just reaching for another stack, when a loud yelp from the landlord rung through the house. The two detectives looked at each other before bolting from the room.

They found the man leaning against the wall at the other end of the hallway. His had a frilly handkerchief held to his mouth as if to ward off sickness and his other arm across his eyes. They could hear him muttering the Lord's Prayer. The door to the other bedroom stood slightly ajar behind him.

"Sir?" Miroku touched his shoulder and the man flinched.

"Tell me-tell me that isn't what I think-I think it is." The two detectives looked at each other for a second before Inuyasha huffed, straightened his shoulders, and pushed open the door to the room.

Unlike the rest of the house, this room was decorated in blood red and fine gold. There were no light fixtures or lamps, instead a number of candles were set up around the room, most had burned out, but two or three still cast enough light to see by. The room had no furniture with exception to a large king sized bed. It was covered with an expensive looking comforter of dark red with intricate designs in gold. Rich cherry wood posts held up a red canopy that sparkled with gold when the candle light hit it at the right angle.

But the thing that held him transfixed was what was on the bed. Dressed in a blood-red silk nightgown, was a woman. Her long, neatly-cut black hair, fanned out across the pillow and her small, fragile hands folded on her chest. Here eye were closed as if she were sleeping.

"Fuck…" The word escaped his lips without his notice. Miroku moved to his side and his mouth fell open.

"Is it… is she…?" Swallowing hard, Inuyasha walked to the side of the bed. He noted the slightly crumpled comforter next to her as if someone had slept there not too long ago. Not wanting to pursue that thought any farther, he concentrated on the girl. The surreal feeling was back as he carefully reached out and touched her hand. It gave way easily to his touch and he let out a breath he did not know he was holding.

"No, it's just plastic. Very real looking plastic."

"This guy needs some serious help."

"I'll take the pictures, you call for help with evidence collection. I want to get the fuck out of here."


	15. Chapter 15

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 15

Tired but happy, Inuyasha walked into his apartment. It had taken the better part of the day to tag and bag everything. He'd used two memory cards on his camera to take all the pictures they needed before the evidence could be moved. Then they had talked to the neighbors.

The task had been about as easy as talking to the landlord. The lady on the right had looked down her nose at them. She actually chastised them about privacy in the home and how they were only targeting 'poor Mister Arachna' because he was on the upper crust and they wanted to make a name for themselves. They simply reminded her of the importance of responding to a subpoena. She huffed in response.

The man on the left had been even less helpful. He was an eccentric, elderly man who obviously did not know night from day. After a few minutes of going in circles with him, his daughter – or maybe granddaughter; it was hard to tell – came to see what was going on. She was, in fact, very helpful and answered all their questions to the best of her ability. After thanking her, they reminded her that she might be subpoenaed to testify in court.

Now he was finally home, and Naraku was being held at the precinct. Tomorrow, Sesshoumaru would go before a judge to set bail, and then it was only a matter of getting everything together for the trial. He'd have to testify, so would Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kirara, and – if she was able – Kanna. He doubted they would call on Kanna. Even if her physical body healed, her therapist said she had regressed psychologically. The little girl would not speak to anyone but Miroku and then it was just 'yes' and 'no.'

He had also found out that Miroku had been spending all his spare time at the hospital with his niece. While it did not come as a surprise, it did explain the bags that were forming under his eyes. Hospital chairs just did not make good beds.

Inuyasha was thankful, however, that there was little chance of Kagome being called to the stand. While she was kin to the first victim, she had not seen anything and could provide little in the way of evidence. On the other hand, the defense might call her to cast reasonable doubt. Inuyasha made a mental note to have Sesshoumaru prep her just in case.

"Kag?" he called through the house.

"In here," her voice called back from the kitchen. He inhaled deeply, taking in the aroma of meat, rice, and vegetables. Kagome was cooking. She had not cooked anything since the night their date was… interrupted, maybe she was feeling better.

Inuyasha found her in the kitchen spooning rice onto three plates. Each already had a large helping of roast beef and broccoli on them. He frowned slightly.

"Are we expecting company?"

"Huh?"

"There are only two of us and you have three plates," Inuyasha provided. She looked down at the plates for a moment before a sad look came over her face. _Damn! One step forward, two steps back._ She took a deep breath and smiled up at him, even as a few fresh tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"It's going to take some getting used to, isn't it?"

"Kagome…" He took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"No, no, I'm good." She looked up at him and smiled slightly. "I just don't know how I can live in that apartment again. It will be so quiet now."

"Then don't." Inuyasha said suddenly, turning her in his arms so he could look into her eyes. "Stay. Here, with me. We can spend more time together, but you'll have to put up with my grumpy ass when I don't get enough sleep."

"I don't know…" She looked to the side thoughtfully.

"You can have the spare room to make into an office, or anything else you want. Just, stay." He took the plate from her hands, set it aside, and pulled her close.

"It's a big decision, Inuyasha."

"Then think about it." He gently kissed her forehead. When he pulled away, there was a mischievous smile on his lips. "Now what did you make me for dinner?"

&&&

Sesshoumaru carefully stacked and arranged his papers as he waited for the judge to appear. The task was harder then one might have thought. Three feet away sat Naraku, handcuffed to his chair. Naraku was not saying anything, just staring, his dark eyes boring their way into the side of his head. It made him want to bristle, but he showed no outward signs. It would do no good to let the man know he was getting under his skin.

Sesshoumaru chanced a look at the defense lawyer, his name was Hakudoushi Entei. He was small, with shoulder-length lavender hair, and a mischievous smile. He was the kind of lawyer that gave lawyers a bad name. Hakudoushi was known to use underhanded methods to get his clients off on technicalities. Of course, he was also known for turning on his own clients if it was to his benefit. Sesshoumaru could only pray his brother had done his job thoroughly.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Toutousai," the bailiff called. Everyone, with the exception of Naraku, rose collectively from their seats. Toutousai tottered from the back room, struggled up the few steps to his bench, and finally took his seat on the overstuffed chair. Everyone else sat down as well. Toutousai took his thin glasses, out of his pocket and studied the paper before him. After a minute, he looked up, switched to his thick glasses and looked down on the room.

"Do you understand the charges against you, Mr. Arachna?" Naraku looked away from Sesshoumaru and up at the judge, but showed no other sign that he had heard what was said.

"My client does not wish to speak in the courtroom," Hakudoushi replied.

"I see. Councilor West?"

"The people remand bail, your honor."

"That's ridiculous," Hakudoushi countered. "My client is a respected member of the community."

"Your client is accused of three murders, attempted murder, rape, child endangerment, and that is just the beginning." Sesshoumaru snorted at his opponent, before turning back to the judge, "We also believe him to be a flight risk and a continued threat to the community."

"And why is that?" Toutousai prompted.

"Mr. Arachna seems to harbor a delusion that the justice system will allow guilty parties to go free. He has also exhibited stalking behavior towards several different people."

"My client has yet to be proven guilty." Hakudoushi countered. Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to retort, but Toutousai cut him off.

"Save it for trial, gentlemen. Bail is remanded and trial date is set for three weeks from today." He banged his gavel to signal the finality of the decision. Both lawyers stood and packed their briefcases as the judge rose from his chair and tottered off. Hakudoushi looked up and gave Sesshoumaru a cool smile.

"Do you really think you can win?"

"With the evidence I have against your client? I doubt it is possible for me to lose. Besides, this Sesshoumaru never loses."

"What about the case of the late Miss Kikyou Arrow?" Hakudoushi said with a nasty smile.

"There was insufficient evidence. That was not my fault." Sesshoumaru responded.

"Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night," Hakudoushi answered. Sesshoumaru simply gave him a cold glare before walking away. He found his brother leaning against the wall just outside the door. Without a word, the two fell into step with each other as they made their way out of the courthouse.

"Well?" Inuyasha finally asked.

"Bail was remanded, but he got Hakudoushi as a lawyer. Don't cut any corners in compiling the evidence." With that, he ducked into his car and drove off. Inuyasha huffed and grumbled to himself as he walked back to his own car.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 16

The next three weeks were a bit of a whirlwind. Kagome went back to work, though Sesshoumaru forbade her from working on Naraku's case. Miroku spent most of his free time at the hospital, especially since Kanna had begun moving around more. Sango divided her time between her job and visits with Kagura. Inuyasha had roped Shippou into helping him get everything in order for the trial to give Miroku more time with his niece.

They had spent the last three days sorting and filing the thousands of pictures. The detectives had decided to place them by person and in descending order by the time stamp in the lower corners. It was tedious work at best.

Shippou leaned back and shut his eyes as he stretched. "If I look at any more numbers my eyes are going to pop out of my head in protest," he griped "How the fuck did he take so many pictures? Didn't he have any other hobbies?"

"He probably dropped them in favor of his obsession," Miroku answered sourly.

"I'd rather do this than look for witnesses. I'm not looking forward to playing twenty questions with Angel. Our breakup didn't exactly go well," Inuyasha added.

"That's putting it mildly." Shippou agreed, remembering well the scene that had taken place in the middle of the precinct. Angel had been, in Shippou's opinion, the perfectly wrong girl to be dating a cop. She had expensive tastes, planned her life to the minute, and was more than a little self-centered. She was also as beautiful as her name suggested – and knew it. In short, she was a spoiled bitch with a fetish for 'bad boys.'

"Hey, be glad you only have three girls to talk to. Even if I narrow it down to girls I dated for more then a month, that's still 22 girls, most of whom are none too fond of me," Miroku countered.

"Why don't you switch," Shippou suggested, peeking out of one half-lidded eye, "Yash can interview Miroku's exes and vice versa."

"I am not interviewing 22 girls, you can just fucking forget it. I already agreed to interview Sango's exes as it is," Inuyasha snapped. He glanced down at his watch and yawned. It was almost 7:30, that meant they had been at this for eight hours and the pictures were still piled high on the table. "I changed my mind. Let's get some uniforms to do this and start the interviews tomorrow."

"Probably should," Miroku agreed as he stood and stretched. "We'll never make the trial date at this rate."

&&&

Inuyasha sat calmly across from Kagome in the living room of their apartment. She smiled at him, looking pleasantly confused by his professional attitude. He was thrilled that she had decided to move in with him, it was a big step and one he had never taken with anyone else. It was nice to have her in his bed every night even when it was just to sleep. He took a recorder from his pocket, turned it on, and set it on the table.

"Ok, Kag. I just want to ask you some questions."

"Alright." She answered, folding her hands in her lap. Inuyasha took a snapshot of Naraku from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Tell me, do you recognize this man?" Kagome leaned over and picked up the photo. For a long moment she studied it.

"He was the guy on the news who held Rin hostage."

"That's right. But do you remember seeing him before that?" Inuyasha shifted in his seat, as best he could remember, he had never seen Naraku between the times of Kikyou's murder and the day at Rin's school. Kagome looked more closely at the picture, chewing slightly on her bottom lip as she thought. It was an endearing habit she had. Finally, she set the picture down and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," She paused, biting her lip again. "I don't remember seeing him, except on TV."

"It's ok, Kag," he reassured, "If you think of anything just let me know." He picked up the recorder and placed it back in his pocket. "I'll see you later; I need to go talk to the other girls, then Sango's old boyfriends."

"What other girls?" She asked as they stood up.

"My exes from the last four years. I've interviewed you, now I need to talk to Saya, Cleo, and… Angel." He sighed, then his lips quirked up slightly, "But Miroku has 22 girls to talk to, and you remember what his breakups have been like. He's got a day in hell ahead of him."

"Inuyasha," she moved around the table and brought her hands up to his chest, "Be careful." Inuyasha chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Why, Kagome, I didn't know your eyes had so much green to them." She pulled back and smacked him on the arm, he only laughed harder. "Don't worry, Kagome, you're the only girl for me." He kissed her forehead gently, before moving down to capture her lips. "I'll be home at the regular time." He picked up his things and headed out the door with a final smile.

&&&

Inuyasha walked slowly up the steps. He had decided against the elevator because it would not take long enough. Saya and Cleo had been pleasant enough to question, though not very helpful, but he just did not feel like seeing Angel again, ever. He had even interviewed Sango's exes to put this interview off as long as possible. Angel was the only woman he had ever considered striking. She whined when she did not get her way, flaunted herself more than some hookers he had locked up, and had an unhealthy fascination with his side arm. He had caught her more then once pointing it around the room and making 'banging' sounds. After the first time, he would not keep his gun loaded while in her presence. He often wondered why he had put up with her for as long as he did.

Inuyasha stopped outside the room number he had been given. He straightened his coat and triple checked that his gun was empty and safely in its holster before ringing the bell. There was a loud giggle, followed by a male voice complaining. Finally, the lock clicked and the door opened slightly, as far as the small chain would allow. A single bright blue eye peeked out with a few locks of straw-blond hair falling in the way. She smiled.

"Well, well, well." The door closed, the chain rattled, and then the door opened again, this time all the way. Standing in the doorway, dressed in little more than a tan bed sheet she held up with one hand, stood Angel. Perfect, straight blond hair fell around her face in a bedraggled sort of way, perfectly framing her stunning sapphire eyes. A coy smile decorated her face. Now he remembered why he stayed, she was hot. "Look who came crawling back."

"Don't read too much into this; it's business," he growled, flashing his badge for effect.

"It was always business with you, Inuyasha."

"Bite me." He growled, "Look, Angel, I just need to ask you some questions. Then you can get back to…" He gave her the once-over, "whatever it is you were doing."

"Hey, Chica, who's at the door?" The male voice called from the back of the apartment.

"Just a dog looking for scraps," she answered. Inuyasha flipped her off. "No thanks, you weren't that good anyway."

"That makes the poll three to one," he retorted just as a man – dressed similarly to Angel – came around the corner. The man had a mess of shoulder length black hair, dark skin, and dark eyes. He was tall, definitely of Latin descent, and had a barbed wire tattoo around both biceps.

"Who are you?"

"Detective Inuyasha West," he flashed his badge, "Homicide."

"Hey, I didn't kill no one." The man answered defensively. Inuyasha pinned him with a cool look.

"I didn't suggest you did. Or is that a guilty conscience I smell?" Inuyasha asked with a raised eyebrow. Angel elbowed the man in the ribs.

"What do you want, Inuyasha? As you can see, I'm busy." Angel growled.

"Just a few questions, and to remind you that prostitution is illegal." He replied smoothly and took the snapshot from his pocket. "Do you recognize this man?" Angel took the picture as if it were contagious and held it up to her face. For a moment she screwed up her face in thought.

"Did I sleep with him?"

"I wouldn't think so, but I've been mistaken before," Inuyasha snorted.

"Can't say that I have." She shrugged and handed the picture back. "Was that all?"

"Are you sure?" He pushed the picture back into her hand.

"Yes, I'm sure," she huffed, letting the picture drop to the ground. Inuyasha picked it up and put it back in his pocket, withdrawing a pad and pen when he did.

"This is not the time to be difficult, Angel," he reprimanded, ignoring her glare, "Now, while we were together did you notice anything strange?"

"Like the fact you were never around?"

"Like threatening phone calls or letters," he snapped back.

"Nope."

"Did you see anyone that was suspicious, or someone who looked out of place?"

"No! No, no, no, no! There was nothing strange about the time I spent with you, besides your overprotective, overbearing attitude, and the fact that you were always running off at the beck and call of Muriko. I swear you two were gay."

"_Miroku_ and I are not gay. We just have a job to do." He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. "If you think of anything give me a call." He paused for a moment, "At the office, not the house." He turned and walked away without even a good-bye.

&&&

When Inuyasha got back to the precinct, he found Miroku with his head down on the desk, looking exhausted. The dark-haired detective seemed to be holding a small bag of ice to his nose. Inuyasha laughed.

"What happened to you?" Miroku lifted his head to show that he had two twists of tissue in his nose. Inuyasha howled.

"I had a few doors slammed in my face. It's not funny!" Miroku griped.

"How many girls do I have to talk to in your place, Casanova?"

"Five." Miroku laid his head back down on the desk. "By the way, Kagome's here."

"Why? Where?"

"Said she remembered something, and she was talking with Kaede the last I saw." Inuyasha left his partner to his sulking and moved to the chief's office. Sure enough, Kagome was sitting in the chair opposite the chief of police sharing a cup of tea and a plate of muffins. A large man in a security officer outfit stood near the door trying to look intimidating.

"Kagome?" The girl looked up and smiled. "What are you doing here?" She stood up and hugged him.

"I remembered something. When I told Sesshouma… er… Mr. West, he sent me straight here and sent Ronny to escort me." She indicated to the security officer.

"That's good. Come on, I'll find us a place we can talk."

"Don't bother, Inuyasha," Kaede said as she rose slowly from her chair. "You can use my office. I have some things to take care of anyway." She shuffled out of the office, taking Ronny with her, and closed the door behind her. Kagome took her seat again and Inuyasha took Kaede's chair. He got a silly sort of smile on his face and spun around in the swiveling leather chair.

"What do you think, Kag? Chief Inuyasha West?" He grinned and settled himself deeper into the plush chair.

"Should I leave you and the chair alone for a moment?" she asked dryly. Inuyasha stuck his tongue out at her.

"Ok, what did you remember?" He pulled his pad and pen out.

"I thought about all the times we ever went out and I remembered that I was always seeing this… man. Not the one in the picture, but another one. I don't remember seeing him before I started dating you. I remembered when I saw him outside the office this morning."

"Wait! You saw him this morning?! Where?" He was around the desk in an instant and holding her hands, "Did he try to hurt you."

"Inuyasha, calm down. He didn't do anything. Just took pictures, he always took pictures."

"Do you think you can describe this man?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's go find the sketch artist."


	17. Chapter 17

**_Closing the Case_**

Chapter 17

Inuyasha leaned against the wall and watched as Kagome talked to the sketch artist. It had never occurred to them that Naraku might be working with a partner. Miroku had called the hospital to double the security on Kanna's room, Sesshoumaru had gone straight to Rin's school and picked her up, Shippou had rushed to his mother's house to check on her and Kirara, and Inuyasha had attached himself to Kagome's side. Now all they could do was wait as Kagome described the man she had seen.

After what seemed like an eternity, the artist, Lisa, showed Kagome the picture and she nodded. Lisa motioned him over and handed him the picture. It was of a dumpy older man with a long mustache and a receding hairline, all the way to the back of his skull. He had large eyes with tiny spectacles perched on his nose.

"Aw, fuck me…" Inuyasha groaned, "Kag, this is the guy you saw?"

"Yeah, did I do something wrong." She looked up at him with disappointed eyes, "I just wanted to help."

"No, Kag, you didn't do anything wrong?" He reached down and touched her cheek, "You may have just given us a great witness."

"I don't understand." He held up the drawing for her to see.

"Kagome, this is Myouga. He's an ex-cop that now owns his own private eye business. If Naraku hired him to follow us, then he's had actual conversations with that bastard." He kissed her forehead and she blinked in surprise, unaccustomed to the public display of affection. "Just stay here. I'll go have everyone cool their jets, then you are going to help me bring in our witness."

"Me? What! Wait, Inuyasha!" But he was already out the door. Kagome turned to look at Lisa, who giggled. "You'd think I'd be used to that by now." The other girl only laughed harder.

Inuyasha found Miroku at his desk looking anxious. When the dark-haired detective saw his partner, he nearly fell out of his chair because he tried to get up too fast. Inuyasha laughed and sat down on the edge of the desk and handed the sketch to his partner.

"Chill, Miroku, it was a false alarm."

"It's just Myouga." Miroku looked at the picture and sighed.

"I'll call Sesshoumaru so he will let Rin out of the house again. Then, I'm taking Kagome to lunch so we can pick up our star witness."

Inuyasha pulled out Kagome's chair for her as they took their seats in a small café not far from the precinct. It was a quiet, out-of-the-way little restaurant that served mainly sandwiches, tea, and coffee. They had come here often and enjoyed lunches together. A young waitress, her name tag said her name was Amy, brought them some menus and took their drink orders. Inuyasha ordered coffee with cream and Kagome got mint tea.

"So, now what?" Kagome asked nervously, her eyes shifting from side to side.

"Nothing. Miroku will grab Myouga. All you have to do is sit here and enjoy lunch with me. What do you want?" Kagome returned her eyes to the menu, but kept looking up. "Kag, relax. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"I know. But it's so weird now that I know someone is watching us. I can't help it." Inuyasha smirked slightly. He stretched out in his chair so his leg brushed against the inside of her calf. Kagome squeaked and blushed. "Inuyasha!" She smacked him on the arm as he laughed at her.

"The turkey looks good. I guess you'll be having the chicken salad?"

"I like chicken salad." She turned her nose up haughtily. He reached across the table and took her chin between his fingers and turned her face back to his.

"Careful, Kagome, you're getting predictable. I like a girl who can keep me on my toes." She smiled slightly at him, before slipping off her pump and running her stocking covered foot up the bottom of his pants. Inuyasha hissed in approval and leaned back in his chair. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Miroku approach Myouga, who had 'hidden' himself behind a newspaper on a nearby bus stop bench. He leaned back in his chair and smiled.

Miroku flopped casually down on the bench next to the private eye. The elderly man was holding a newspaper in front of his face, peeking over the top in a non-too-convincing casual manner. A large camera with telephoto a lens sat in his lap, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Hey, Myouga. Having fun?" the dark-haired detective asked casually. The old man jumped in surprise. He looked around wildly, as if he had been disturbed from deep thought, before 'spotting' Miroku.

"You should have more respect and not sneak up on an old man while he's reading!" the private eye scolded.

"If you weren't so focused on spying on my partner and his date, you would have seen me coming," Miroku scoffed, "Now come on, old man, we need to have a word back at the precinct." He took Myouga by the elbow and stood up. The older man protested a little, but gave in.

"I've got a job to do. My client will be very upset!"

"I know all about your client. That's what we want to talk to you about."

Inuyasha returned to the precinct after dropping Kagome off at work. He found Myouga and Miroku in a small back office. The elderly private eye was munching on a sandwich and Miroku was sipping at a cup of coffee, his feet propped up on the table. The dark-haired detective was only half watching the other man – there not being any real reason for them to hold him, yet.

"Ahh, there's Yash. How was lunch?"

"After she quit looking around, it was fine. Now, old man, why have you been following us?" Inuyasha turned an annoyed glare on the private eye.

"I was hired to do so."

"Why?" Miroku pressed.

"It is none of your business. My work is between myself and my client." Myouga defended, turning his nose up in the air. The look was ruined by the crumbs and mustard on his mouth. Miroku pulled a snapshot of Naraku from his pocket and tossed it onto the table in front of Myouga.

"Is this man your client?" Myouga picked up the photo and held it so the light did not reflect off the glossy surface.

"Yes…" He replied slowly.

"His name is Naraku Arachna," Inuyasha informed him, "and right now he is being held on a number of charges ranging from breaking and entering to murder. His trial date is next Monday."

"We know you, Myouga," Miroku piped up, "And we know you aren't the kind to be an accomplice to murder. So, just tell us what Naraku hired you for, any details you two discussed during any of your meetings, and testify to all this in court; and we won't need to press any charges." Myouga still held the picture, his hand trembling slightly.

"Murder…" He wet his lips slowly, "I don't understand." Inuyasha sighed and ran his fingers through his long hair.

"Miroku, you want to get us some sodas."

"Sure." The detective stood up and left the room, though he did not seem to be in any hurry. Once the door was firmly shut, Inuyasha turned back to the other man.

"Yes, murder," Inuyasha huffed, "And not just any murder. He killed my girlfriend's little brother, Sango's little brother, attacked Miroku's niece and Shippou's daughter, and he held Sesshoumaru's daughter hostage. He had a room full of photographs taken over the past four years of all the victims and their closest relations." The older man sat limply in his chair, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the table. "You took those photos didn't you?" Myouga opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Inuyasha picked up a folder Miroku had left lying on the far end of the table and slid it in front of Myouga. "Open it."

The private eye carefully flipped the folder open. It was a standard police report, with written notes and several pictures. There were a couple of pictures from Naraku's apartment, including some of the plastic Kikyou and 'The Picture Room.' There were also pictures of Souta, Tony, and Kohaku dead at the crime scenes, and pictures of the wounds Kanna and Kirara had gotten.

"He-he," Myouga choked. "He said he was putting together a case against some corrupt cops. I n-never… thought… He said that the cops had taken money to release his wife's killer. Whe-when I saw who it was, I didn't want to believe…" His throat closed and his sentence dissolved into a gurgle. Inuyasha took a pen from his pocket and grabbed a legal pad from a nearby table. He placed them both next to the folder just as Miroku returned.

"Write it down. Everything; don't leave anything out. You will testify to all this, correct?"

"Yeah," Myouga answered softly as he began to write. The two detectives watched in silence as he wrote. Inuyasha lifted an eyebrow when Myouga flipped the top page over and began to write on the second page. Both detectives exchanged looks when he got to the fifth page. Finally, after covering six pages with tiny neat print, Myouga signed his name and put the pad and pen back on the table. "I-I think that's everything." Miroku shook his head.

"You always were meticulous, Myouga." Miroku commented as Inuyasha picked up the legal pad. Myouga did not say anything, just folded his hands on the table and lowered his head to rest on them, his large eyes closed. Miroku's mouth quirked into a sad smile as they rose from the table. He gave the older man a reassuring pat on the shoulder as they passed out of the room.

"What did he write?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha skimmed the papers. The white-haired detective did not answer right away, his eyes shifting back and forth as he read. After a long moment, he lifted his golden eyes to meet Miroku's violet ones.

"Myouga's a smart old man, but his major shortcoming as a detective is that he never had a very good feel for people." Inuyasha looked back down at the paper. "He always took everything at face value until it could be proven otherwise. He never put much stock in the fact that people will lie to cover their asses or give half-truths when it suited their needs. Naraku told him that we were corrupt cops that could be bribed and, later, that we were using the people in our lives, girlfriends and such, as leverage to get our way. Naraku felt we were a danger to the city at large, but needed the evidence to put us away. Towards the end he wanted proof that we were abusing the children under our care." Inuyasha's mouth twisted into a frown.

"So, what do you think?" Miroku pressed, Inuyasha could hear the will to make suffer all responsible for Kanna's pain coming through his voice.

"I've known Myouga for a long time, Miroku. Before I was a beat cop, before I was out of school, hell, before my parents died. He's the one who made me want to be a cop rather then following my father and brother to law school. He's a good man and I don't think there is any punishment we could dish out that could hope to rival what he's going to do to himself over this." Miroku studied his partner with a critical eye, before sighing in a deep resigned manner. Far be it for him to make an old man suffer just to soothe his own injuries.

"As long as he testifies." Miroku said finally.

"He will." Inuyasha assured. "He will."


	18. Chapter 18

**_Closing the Case_**

_Chapter 18_

The courtroom buzzed as people chatted in loud whispers, trying to be polite and heard at the same time. The gallery was roughly half full. Some of the patrons were simply there to watch the justice system in action; while others had a more personal reason for being there. Miroku sat on the prosecuting side in the back row. The aisle was to his left and Inuyasha and Kagome to his right. Sango sat in front of him with Shippou, and Kirara; the little girl happily coloring in a book with the 'help' of her stuffed cat. On the other side of the aisle, Mrs. Hillard sat with a large man who was most likely her husband. Kagura sat behind the prosecutor's table with Rin at her side. Myouga sat by himself on the far side of the room.

Kagome leaned against Inuyasha, lacing her fingers with his nervously. He pulled his hand away in favor of wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close to his side.

"I'm right here, Kagome." She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.

The doors to the courtroom groaned open and Sesshoumaru swept in. His tailored suit clung perfectly to the lines of his body. His long silvery hair swayed back and forth as he moved, almost bushing the ground with each swing. The young lawyer commanded the attention of the room without a word or even a glance. His walk was unhurried as he moved to the front of the room. He set his briefcase on the table, opened it, and took out a stack of papers. Inuyasha was not sure about the laws concerning whether or not Sesshoumaru could try this case. However, he was sure that he did not want to be the one to tell his brother otherwise.

A moment later, the doors opened again and in walked Hakudoushi with Naraku, whose hands were bound with handcuffs in front of him. Naraku looked at them, a cool smile gracing his lips. Miroku glared, Sango met Naraku's gaze with a glower of her own, and Inuyasha and Shippou both moved to block his view of their respective girls. The lawyer and his client passed through the little gate and moved to the defendant's table. After he was seated, Naraku leaned back and smiled across the room at Rin. The girl squeaked and ducked out of sight behind Kagura. Sesshoumaru raised his head and glowered.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Toutousai," the bailiff called. Everyone rose to their feet as the elderly judge tottered out of his chamber and up to his chair.

"You may be seated," Toutousai instructed, and the room sat. "This court is called to order in the case of The State vs. Naraku Arachna. Gentlemen, your opening statements." Sesshoumaru rose from his chair in one smooth motion and crossed to the jury box. He took his time making eye contact with each of the twelve people, resting his hand delicately on the railing, but did not lean against it. When he finally did speak, his voice rolled out in a smooth, deep, commanding manner.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are here today for one simple reason. That man you see sitting in that defendant's chair and his lawyer would have you believe that he is a respectable citizen of the community. They want you to believe that it is impossible for him to do the things he has done. But such a thought would be a travesty of justice. That man has committed a number of crimes against not only the State, but against the very people who put their lives on the line every day to protect you.

"He believes that he has the right to take justice into his own hands and exact vengeance on those whom he believes failed him. But he did not sue the department, nor was his attack on the people involved. No, he took his vigilante tactics out on those who are blameless, innocent in every sense of the word. He took his depraved justice out on children. Not only did he take their lives, but he took their innocence. I will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man is a danger to society as a whole as well as to himself." Sesshoumaru let his eyes sweep over the jury again, before he turned and walked back to his chair.

Hakudoushi rose from his seat as Sesshoumaru sat down. He moved towards the jury, his stride confidant to the point of almost being a swagger. His manner was casual as he leaned heavily on the railing separating him from the jury.

"'A travesty of justice, vengeance, depraved justice, a danger to society'. These are the things my opponent used to describe my client. I was under the impression that this country believes in innocent until proven guilty. My opponent wishes to lead you to believe that Mr. Arachna is some horrible monster, who seeks out children for his own sick pleasure. I will show how the truth is that Mr. Arachna is, in fact the victim. He is the victim of this very system that he trusted to protect him, to bring him justice when a true madman saw fit to take his fiancé and crush his entire world. By the time you must make your decision, you will see that the only travesty of justice is the suffering this poor soul has had to endure at the hands of this system." Hakudoushi moved back to his seat, casting a smirk at Sesshoumaru as he did. The other lawyer narrowed his eyes a fraction, but showed no other sign that he had noticed.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" The bailiff asked seriously. Inuyasha had his right hand raised as he looked out over the courtroom from the witness stand. He looked out over the courtroom from the witness stand. It was not an unfamiliar position for him, he had testified dozens of times before. Out in the gallery he could see Kagome, a pensive look on her face. Miroku sat next to her, doing his best to keep her calm.

"I do." He took his hand from the book and sat down as the bailiff moved away. Sesshoumaru rose from his chair and took several measured steps across the room before stopping. The lawyer seemed to take a moment to think about his angle of attack.

"Please state your full name and rank for the record."

"Lieutenant Inuyasha West."

"Tell me, Detective West, where were you when the first body was found?" Sesshoumaru asked casually, keeping his tone calm and almost friendly.

"I was at my girlfriend's apartment enjoying some quality time," Inuyasha replied.

"Quality time?" Sesshoumaru prompted.

"We shared dinner and were going to have sex," Inuyasha replied flatly and without blushing, ignoring Kagome's embarrassed squeak. He knew from experience that using euphemisms in court made it easier for the defense to discredit his statement. "But I was called away before we got to the second part."

"What did you find when you arrived on the scene?" Sesshoumaru continued. Inuyasha focused his attention on his brother, anything not to have to look at Kagome at the moment.

"When I arrived, my partner, Miroku, was already there. The bodies had been pulled out of the river by the witness who called them in. Both were covered in a white cloth to preserve any physical evidence left on them. We assessed the initial cause of death on scene to be the numerous stab wounds to the chests of both victims." Inuyasha ignored the pain-filled whimpers from the gallery. "We also recovered the barrels and rope that were used to tie the bodies and keep them afloat."

"Keep the bodies afloat?" Sesshoumaru repeated. "Don't people usually deposit bodies in the river in hopes they will never be found?"

"Objection! Calls for speculation," Hakudoushi interrupted.

"I am only asking about something that is common knowledge for any officer worthy of his badge," Sesshoumaru retorted. Toutousai leaned back in his chair in thought for a moment, before adjusting his glasses.

"I will allow it, but watch your step, councilor. Continue, Detective." Inuyasha nodded in acknowledgement.

"As a general rule, yes. We theorized that the perpetrator wanted the bodies found." Sesshoumaru nodded and seemed to take this information in.

"Were there any notable differences in the other crime scenes?" Sesshoumaru pressed.

"The second scene only had one body as opposed to the first scene's two and, at the third scene, the victim was still alive." He chanced a look at Naraku. The man's face gave no indication that the news affected him. But years of reading Sesshoumaru's constant poker face gave Inuyasha a keen eye, and he did not miss the slight twitch of annoyance.

"And what is the condition of the victim that was still alive?"

"She was moved from the ICU yesterday, but her condition is still listed as critical." Sesshoumaru watched his brother give his well-practiced answers, not giving too much away while still answering the questions honestly. He walked back to his desk and flipped through some papers. Inuyasha knew it was for show, any lawyer worth his tailored suit had all his questions memorized weeks ahead of time.

"And what is her mental condition, how is she coping with this traumatic experience?"

"Objection!" Hakudoushi snapped as he rose smartly from his chair. Inuyasha shut his mouth with an audible click.

"On what grounds?" Toutousai prompted.

"The witness is a detective, not a psychologist and is therefore not qualified to testify on someone's mental state."

"Agreed, sustained. Move on, Councilor." Sesshoumaru's mouth turned down ever so slightly.

"No more questions," Sesshoumaru said with a flip of his wrist. "Your witness." As Sesshoumaru took his seat, Hakudoushi rose from his. Inuyasha noted that, unlike his brother, the defending council took a much more aggressive approach. The small lawyer walked all the way up to the witness stand so that Inuyasha had no choice but to look into his eyes or look less than confidant. Inuyasha straightened his shoulders, he would not be intimidated.

"Tell me Detective, how many years have you worked in homicide?" The lawyer's voice was smooth and confidante as he spoke.

"Just over four years," Inuyasha answered simply.

"Four years, that's a long time. Especially in a job that could…" He paused as if searching for the right words, "try one's sanity."

"I suppose…" Inuyasha answered slowly, unsure where this was going.

"You must have seen a lot of terrible things in your line of work." Hakudoushi sounded almost sympathetic.

"Objection," Sesshoumaru cut in. "Does this have a point?"

"Get on with it councilor," Toutousai pressed. Hakudoushi nodded his acknowledgement and took a few steps away from the witness box.

"In all that time, have you ever seen anything like what my client did?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking." Inuyasha leveled the lawyer with a calm glare. Hakudoushi smiled back slightly.

"In your time as a homicide investigator have you ever witnessed another case where the suspect was so focused on certain victims?" Hakudoushi asked. There was something in his voice that made Inuyasha's hackles rise, but he knew he still had to answer.

"Not to my recollection."

"Would you say he was obsessed?"

"Perhaps."

Hakudoushi nodded, "I'd like to present Exhibit B, previously introduced by the state." Toutousai nodded to the bailiff, and the man ducked out of the court room. A few minutes later he returned with another man, both pulling rolling bulletin boards behind them. The boards were covered completely with the pictures from Naraku's apartment. The pictures were arranged from oldest to newest, with a side of a board dedicated to each of the adults involved – with Sango and Sesshoumaru's pictures sharing a side. "Do you recognize these pictures Detective West?"

"I do." Inuyasha answered.

"Would you please tell the court in your own words where these were found and under what circumstances?"

"The pictures were found in the apartment of Naraku Arachna, by my partner Miroku Priest when we were serving the warrant. They were stapled to the wall in a single room and arranged from oldest to newest."

"How far back do these pictures go?"

"The oldest we found was just under four years old."

"And what are these pictures of, Detective?"

"The pictures depict myself, my partner Miroku, my brother Sesshoumaru, and two of my colleagues: Sango and Shippou."

"I see," Hakudoushi smiled. "No further questions."

"The witness may step down." The judge nodded to Inuyasha. The detective stood and moved back to his seat without a word. "This court is recessed for lunch, be back here at 1:30." Toutousai banged his gavel.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Closing the Case**_

_Chapter 19_

Inuyasha clasped Kagome's hand as Sango took the stand. The medical examiner was about to testify to all the gruesome details she found on all the bodies, as well as to the DNA evidence found. Even from the gallery, Inuyasha could see the distant look in her eyes, as she tried to suppress the thoughts of examining her brother's body.

Inuyasha leaned over to whisper in Kagome's ear, "We don't have to stay for this, I've already testified." Kagome turned and looked at him. Her blue eyes were brimming with tears, but determined. The hand that was linked with his squeezed just a little tighter.

"No. I want to stay. I want to know how it happened."

"Kagome…"

"Please, Inuyasha, I need to do this. If I don't, I'll spend the rest of my life wondering. Please." He looked down at her for a long moment with an unreadable expression. Inuyasha had taken a lot of effort to shield her from the horrors of his job, but how could he protect her when she did not want protection? With a sigh and a gentle kiss to her forehead, he backed down.

"Ok, but say the word and we're gone," he whispered. She nodded and smiled up at him.

"Thank you." They turned back to the floor as Sesshoumaru began to ask his questions. It was easy at first, because he asked about the DNA found and how it conclusively connected Naraku to the crimes. He pressed about the technical aspects of DNA matching and the odds of two people having identical DNA. Then he moved onto the bodies.

"Miss Tijiya, describe for this court the conditions of the bodies when you examined them." Sesshoumaru's calm voice carried clearly through the room. At his side, Inuyasha felt Kagome stiffen and he gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. On the stand, Sango took a deep calming breath, no doubt suppressing the images that rose in her mind.

"The bodies sustained a number of post and pre-mortem wounds. The pre-mortem wounds included a number of large bruises consistent with being moved around in a limited amount of space. There were also rope burns and bruises on the wrists and ankles." Sango took another deep breath and Kagome's grip tightened on Inuyasha's hand. "Two of the boys, the first and third victims, were also sodomized."

Inuyasha heard Kagome's breath seize and he turned to look at her. Her jaw was set in a hard line as her teeth clenched. Her eyes were closed and a tear was slowly rolling down her cheek. Inuyasha reached out and wiped it away, drawing her attention to him as he did. The question must have been evident in his eyes, because she shook her head and turned back to the floor.

"The hairbrush found in Mr. Arachna's apartment had blood and fecal particles on it. It was also made of pine, matching the splinters found in both victims. All the bodies had stab wounds to the chest that were pre and post mortem. In the case of victim one, one of the early stabs wounds punctured a lung causing it to fill with blood and putting cause of death as asphyxiation. In the case of the second victim, all the wounds were post mortem. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the back of the skull when the victim's head was slammed repeatedly onto concrete, small chunks of which were found in the wound. The third victim," Sango took another steadying breath, "had a mixture of pre and post mortem wounds, with the cause of death being blood loss."

"You also had a chance to examine the victim who lived, is that correct?" To Inuyasha's left he saw Miroku stiffen ever so slightly before bowing his head to hide his eyes.

"Correct."

"Were the injuries consistent with the pattern you have seen?" Sesshoumaru pressed as he seemed to study the M.E.

"For the most part. She had the same bruises and stab wounds as the boys. But unlike the boys, she was not sodomized. Instead she was raped. That is where we got the DNA sample." Sango answered. She seemed to finally have gotten her emotions completely in check. Miroku, on the other hand, seemed to be losing his control. He stood and left the room, his stride very short and purposeful. Only Inuyasha noticed his exit.

"Inuyasha?" He turned back at the sound of Kagome's soft request.

"Do you want to go?"

"No, not yet. Which… which victim was Souta?" Her voice was soft, as if she was trying to keep it from cracking. But her efforts could not keep the sadness and fear out.

"Kag… I shouldn't…"

"Please, Inuyasha, I need to know this." Her eyes pleaded with him and tugged at his heart. He frowned. It was against the rules for him to talk to her about the case until the trial was over.

"I can't, Kagome," he apologized. She started to protest, but he placed a finger to her lips to stop her. "But when this is all over, I'm going to take a few days off and take you somewhere nice. Then, I'll answer any questions you have. Deal?" She looked disappointed, but nodded in agreement.

While they had been talking, Sesshoumaru had finished and passed Sango off to the Defense. Hakudoushi's questions focused on trying to cast doubt on the DNA evidence. He pointed out the margin of error and asked her questions about jumping to a convenient conclusion, to the point that Sesshoumaru objected to badgering. When she was finally released from the stand, Sango made her way back to the gallery with her head held high. She dropped into Miroku's abandoned seat and let her head fall into her hands. He could see her shaking slightly.

It was Kagome, however, who reached out to her. Inuyasha watched as his girlfriend reached across him to place her hand on Sango's shoulder. The M.E. started a little, and looked up. Inuyasha remembered Miroku once saying women could speak volumes without saying a word, but he never believed it until that moment. Both girls smiled gently at each other as they gave and received comfort from the other. It was Sesshoumaru's voice that finally broke the spell.

"The prosecution calls Kirara Kitsunebi to the stand." Shippou rose and took his daughter's hand. Kirara followed obediently, though her expression showed fear and nervousness. The young detective lifted the girl into the witness chair and gave her a gentle kiss to the temple and an encouraging word. As the bailiff approached her, Kagome turned back to Inuyasha.

"He can't really mean to question her? She's just a little girl!" Her voice came out in a harsh whisper.

"He prepped her. Don't worry; Sesshoumaru knows what he's doing." Kagome gave him a pensive look, but did not protest further. On the stand, Kirara finished the oath, though she seemed at a loss for why she had had to take it. Her wide blue eyes scanned the room. She looked tiny in the large wooden chair; with her back against the stiff back of the chair, her feet stuck straight out over the edge, and her arms spread wide so she could 'rest' her hands on the chair's arms. She tilted her chin up to look at the tall prosecutor.

Inuyasha nearly choked when he saw his brother give the girl a small smile and crouch down to her level. Of all the times in the world not to have a camera on hand. He knew that scaring a child would make his brother look bad in the eyes of the jury, but his brother rarely smiled, except at Rin. A glance to the side showed him that Kagome was just as surprised as he was.

"Hi, sweetie, can you tell me your name?" Sesshoumaru asked pleasantly. A loud snort came from the gallery, but the attorney ignored it.

"It's Kirara."

"And what's your last name, Kirara?"

"Kitsunebi."

"That's a pretty name." Sesshoumaru smiled again as he stood and stepped back a little.

"Now, can you tell me what happened three weeks ago?" Kirara looked up at him innocently.

"Umm, I went to school, and I colored pictures, and Daddy took me to see Miss Kagome, and she read me a book, and we had hamburgers for dinner, and I-"

"That all sounds like so much fun," Sesshoumaru cut her off gently, "But was there something scary that happened?" Kirara brought a finger to her mouth in deep thought for a moment before nodding. "Can you tell me about it?" She nodded again. In the gallery, Inuyasha was biting his hand to stifle his laughter at his brother's out of character behavior.

"I was in my room, coloring a picture of me and Daddy and my kitty. And then someone knocked on the door and Miss Sarah said she would get it. Then there was a loud bang and Miss Sarah screamed. Then this big man who I never saw before came in my room and he grabbed my arm and I screamed. Then Max came in and bit him."

"And can you tell me who Max is?"

"Uh huh, he's Daddy's partner. He's a doggy," Kirara piped, showing she had nothing but loved for her furry friend.

"Why do you think he bit that man?"

"Daddy says Max has to bite bad people," she answered. Sesshoumaru nodded sagely.

"I bet that was really scary," Sesshoumaru crouching down to her level again. Kirara nodded.

"But I wouldn't have been scared if my Daddy was there. He's really brave and strong and he keeps bad guys from hurting people."

Sesshoumaru nodded as if she had just said something very fascinating. "Your Daddy is here today, right?"

"Uh huh, he's right over there." She pointed across the room to where Shippou sat in the gallery. Sesshoumaru looked over and caught sight of his brother in fits of silent laughter. The attorney made a mental note to make him pay for his misgotten humor.

"Well, since your Daddy is here, can you be brave for me?" Kirara nodded vigorously. "Can you point to the man who Max bit?" He stood up so she had a clear view of the room. The little girl scanned the room, her finger to her mouth again as she thought.

"That's him." She pointed to Naraku.

"Are you sure?" Sesshoumaru asked gently. "It's important."

"Pretty sure," Kirara answered, looking up at the lawyer, "The man had lots of hair and these funny brown eyes that looked kinda red too." Sesshoumaru nodded and smiled at her again.

"No further questions." As Sesshoumaru made his way back to his seat, Hakudoushi stood up. The small lawyer smiled charmingly at the little girl, but it did not hold any warmth and she shrank away slightly.

"Sweetie, do you know what the word perjury means?" Kirara shook her head. "Answer Yes or No, please."

"No." Her voice was small as she leaned as far away from the man as the chair would allow. The lawyer crouched down so he could look into the little girl's eyes.

"Perjury means lying under oath. You made a promise in front of all these people, that you would tell the truth while you sat in this chair. Now, are you sure that," he gestured towards Naraku, "is the man you saw, or did you just give the answer that your Daddy and Mr. West told you to give?"

"Daddy and Mr. West told me to tell the truth," she protested, though she still sounded small and frightened. Hakudoushi nodded and stood up. He walked across the room to the jury box. He stopped near a young juror with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes.

"This man has black hair and brown eyes; could not he have been the one who came into your home?" Kirara tilted her head to the side, seeming to consider the man before giving her head a shake.

"Nope, he doesn't have enough hair. The man who came in had lots of hair, like Daddy, and Mr. West, and Uncle Yasha."

"I see." Hakudoushi frowned ever so slightly. He began to walk slowly back across the room. "But all of them have lots of hair, why are you so sure that there aren't more men with lots of hair. I'm sure at least some of them have black hair and brown eyes." Kirara shifted uncomfortably. "So, how do you know that this man is the same one?"

"I…umm…"

"So you're not sure."

"But…"

"So you lied to all these people."

"Objection! Badgering!" Sesshoumaru cut in.

"Withdrawn." Hakudoushi flipped his hand casually before the judge could rule. Kirara sat deep in the chair, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. Hakudoushi turned back to ask her another question, but one look at the little girl's face and he thought better of it. "No further questions."

"You can go back to your father now," Toutousai prompted. Kirara nodded and slid out of the chair and, with some difficulty, stepped out of the witness box. She lifted her eyes to see Shippou holding the swinging gallery door open. But a moment later they drifted to the left ever so slightly to take in Naraku and Hakudoushi. Both men smiled at her, but there was no warmth in it.

A chair scraped against the floor and Sesshoumaru swept across the room. He scooped the small girl into his arms without a word, and moved back to Shippou. The young detective took his daughter with only a sour look at the defendant and his lawyer.

Sesshoumaru went on to call Myouga, Rin, Mrs. Jackson, and half a dozen others before he finally turned the floor over to the defense.

"Councilor Entei, you may call your first witness," Toutousai instructed, stretching lazily in his chair. It seemed a wonder he had stayed awake through the entire trial.

"The Defense would like to call Kagome Higurashi to the stand."


	20. Chapter 20

_**Closing the Case**_

_Chapter 20_

"The defense calls Kagome Higurashi to the stand." Kagome's head, which had been resting against Inuyasha's shoulder in a light doze, snapped up. She looked around; scanning the room in hopes there was another 'Kagome Higurashi' in the room that she did not know about. Finding nothing, she turned to Inuyasha for help. Inuyasha shot her a look of disbelief, only to be met with wide, confused blue eyes.

"Objection!" Sesshoumaru was on his feet. "The prosecution was not informed that Miss Higurashi would be called to the stand. We are not prepared." Toutousai sat up in his chair, switching his glasses again.

"This court is recessed until 10 am tomorrow morning." The gavel banged to signal the finality of the decision. Both sides gathered up their things. The gallery emptied around them, but Inuyasha and Kagome remained seated. Sesshoumaru swept down the aisle, only giving them a glance as he passed, but Inuyasha knew they were expected to follow.

Gently taking Kagome by the elbow and pulling her to her feet, they trailed after Sesshoumaru without a word. Kagome felt like a small child being led to her room after breaking something expensive. No one spoke until the lawyer stopped outside a door, unlocked it, and directed them inside. The room was really a very small office, or a large broom closet dressed as an office. There was a nice desk and leather chairs, but they did little to take away from the bare white walls. Kagome could only assume that the room was Sesshoumaru's office away from the office.

The door shut with an echoing snap that did not seem possible in such a small space, and Kagome felt both sets of gold eyes fall on her. She turned around to meet the brothers, realizing for the first time how much they really looked alike. Sesshoumaru had a more sophisticated, refined air and was a bit taller, but that was about it. And right now they both wore the same expression of… she was not sure, but it made the bottom drop out of her stomach.

"Did you know?" Inuyasha's voice was low, but his eyes met hers without wavering.

"No." She shook her head, but under the twin piercing gazes still felt ashamed as if it was somehow her fault.

"Can he call a surprise witness without the witness knowing?" Inuyasha turned his gaze to his brother. Sesshoumaru frowned.

"Technically, yes, but it is considered bad form. Sit down, Miss Higurashi." Kagome dropped into the closest chair without protest.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Can you teach me to do that?" Kagome glared at him.

"Just sign her paychecks, little brother," Sesshoumaru replied casually, setting his briefcase on the desk. He opened it with a snap and began searching through his papers. "So far, Hakudoushi has hedged his case on an insanity defense and trying to create reasonable doubt. If I know Hakudoushi, he is going to try and make you look like a pushy, whiny girlfriend, who forced my brother to find a person to blame to meet your needs for revenge."

"But, I-"

"I do not need to know about your personal life, Miss Higurashi," he cut her off, "I simply need you to not blow this case out of the water by giving him exactly what he wants. Get comfortable. Inuyasha, keep your mouth shut."

&&&

Kagome let her hand drop to her lap as she took her seat in the witness stand. The room looked so much more intimidating from this angle. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippou all sat in the gallery watching her closely. Sesshoumaru maintained his cool exterior while looking over some papers. Hakudoushi and Naraku both had her fixed with icy stares. She swallowed thickly, trying get rid of the lump that was forming in her throat.

The defense lawyer slowly rose from his chair and straightened his jacket. With a confidant air, he sauntered across the room. Remembering what Sesshoumaru had said, she met his eyes without wavering. After two years with Inuyasha and working for Sesshoumaru, it was easy.

"Please state your name for the court."

"Kagome Higurashi."

"Miss. Higurashi, when you found out that your brother had… passed on, would you say you were… in distress?"

"One could say that. But what would you have me be in under the circumstances?"

"I am asking the questions here." Hakudoushi admonished, "Would you say your distress made you unreasonable?" Kagome fixed him with an almost withering glare.

"I am probably not the person you should be asking that question. But at the time, I feel any of the requests I made were perfectly within reason."

"So, you are saying you let your grief rule your life?"

"No. I just did not see wanting space or attention on demand as unreasonable," Kagome replied, fighting hard to keep her composure. In the gallery, Inuyasha seemed to be gripping the bench.

"Attention and space? That was all you wanted? Surely, there was something more you asked for?"

"Objection!" Sesshoumaru's voice cut off Kagome's answer, "Leading the witness."

"She's my witness," Hakudoushi protested. Toutousai looked between the two lawyers for a moment.

"Sustained, but watch your step, Councilor Entei." Hakudoushi nodded and turned back to Kagome.

"I understand you moved in with your boyfriend, Detective West, the very night you found out about your brother's death. Is that right?"

"Yes." Kagome kept her answer to just what he asked for, not giving anything else as Sesshoumaru had instructed her.

"So anytime he was at home, you were there? I'm sure it was awkward at best, both of you under so much stress."

"I don't understand the question." Kagome watched him as he paced slowly in front of her.

"You got into fights, correct?"

"Inuyasha and I have had our share of disagreements, but no relationship is perfect." Kagome carefully folded her hands in her lap, trying not to fidget with her skirt hem. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die. She had always believed that a relationship was between only the people involved. Now, her most personal relationship was on display for the world to see.

"And what disagreements have you had recently?"

"Last night we disagreed on what to watch on TV."

"I meant significant disagreements, Miss Higurashi." Hakudoushi did not look amused with her answer.

Kagome sighed. "The last major disagreement we had was when he came home with blood on his clothes. I thought he was hurt, but the blood belonged to someone else. I jumped to conclusions and it ended in us yelling at each other." Hakudoushi nodded.

"I'm sure with all the stress you were under; you had lots of little fights too. Do you feel that maybe you, inadvertently, pressured Detective West?"

"If I did, it was unintentional." Kagome shifted uneasily and gripped the hem of her skirt, not liking how this was going. Hakudoushi nodded, walking slowly but purposefully towards the jury box. He took his time to lean against the rail so he could look back across the room at her.

"If you could say anything to the man who killed your little brother, right now, what would you say?" Kagome visibly started, her eyes going wide. The question had completely blindsided her, and was unlike anything Sesshoumaru had prepped her for. A quick glance told her Sesshoumaru had been thrown off kilter too, even if he only let his surprise show for the briefest of moments. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was wide-eyed and looked more than a little shocked.

Kagome took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, feeling very unsure. It was obvious that the defense lawyer had not asked an inappropriate question, because Sesshoumaru had not objected. A thousand thoughts raced through her brain, each desperate to be the first out of her mouth. She wanted to scream and cry, she wanted to be angry, she wanted justice. But even as she stared at her hands, trying hard to come up with an honest answer, something else swept over her.

Unlike the other thoughts, this one did not demand her attention or shout to be heard. This thought came in like a lamb, but it brought with it an overwhelming sense of peace. The noise in her head quieted, her shoulders relaxed, her fists unclenched, and calm swept through her like a wave. Her head came up and her eyes met Naraku's hard, expressionless gaze.

"You must have loved her very much." Kagome's voice was so calm she even surprised herself, "I'm sorry someone took her away from you before you had the chance to truly live. I know when I found out my brother was murdered, it was like I lost a part of myself and I could never get it back. I imagine that's what you feel like too. I'm sorry for your loss, I only wish you could have found peace and not taken my brother from me.

"They say one should always forgive and forget. Forgiving is the easy part. So, Mr. Arachna, I forgive you for what you did, even if I don't understand it. But I will never forget that you took my baby brother from me. I only hope you can live with what you have done."

The room was completely silent. Hakudoushi had lost his smug smirk in favor of a slack jawed, wide-eyed expression. Sesshoumaru had both fine eyebrows raised until they disappeared into his hairline. Even Naraku looked at her as if she might have lost her mind. Of all the people in the room, only Inuyasha had a look other than shock. He looked amused.

"N-no further questions." Hakudoushi stumbled over the familiar statement as he returned to his chair. Sesshoumaru rose to his feet, opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

"No questions, Your Honor," Sesshoumaru finally managed and sat back down. Toutousai turned to her and simply motioned for her to step down. Kagome rose from the hard wooden chair, straightened her skirt, and stepped out of the box. Inuyasha stood and held the gallery door open for her as she passed through.

"C-Counsilor Entei, you may call your next witness." Toutousai ordered, trying to get things moving again. Hakudoushi stood up, seeming to have regained his composure.

"The Defense calls…" But Kagome was no longer listening. She reached out and took Inuyasha's hand.

"Can we go home now?"

"Sure, Kagome." His smile spoke volumes as he led her out of the courtroom.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Closing the Case**_

_Chapter 21_

Once they were in the car, Inuyasha finally let out the laughter he had been holding in. Kagome gave him a wary look, but it only made him laugh harder. She crossed her arms and huffed, but it still took him several minutes to regain control of himself.

"What's so funny?" She groused. The day had left her tired and her nerves frayed; she just was not in the mood to deal with him.

"What's so funny?" He repeated. "You just left two overpaid lawyers speechless. That what's so funny! If I'd known you could shut my brother up so completely I would have hung around his office more, just to watch."

Kagome blushed. "I didn't mean to. I was just being honest." Inuyasha leaned over and kissed her cheek softly.

"That's what makes it all the better. You were just being you. Only you." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as the awkwardness of the car would allow. The laughter had died and now his eyes held something else. "Only you could forgive such a monster for what he did. I'll never understand how you can do such things." He kissed her gently on the lips. She gave him a weak smile and tucked her head under his chin.

"It still hurts." Her voice cracked slightly and he squeezed her closer.

"I know. It still hurts to think about my parents, but it gets better. You just have to give it time." She nodded against his chest and he released her. The car roared to life and Inuyasha pulled away from the courthouse.

&&&

The rest of the week passed without incident before fading into the next. Kagome decided that she had had her fill of the court case and opted to keep tabs of it on the news. Inuyasha and Miroku moved on to other cases, but nothing too big because they had both put in for time off at the beginning of next month. Sesshoumaru had, in his ever-mysterious way, told her she would be taking a vacation next month under the articles of bereavement. She was sure Inuyasha had something to do with it.

Kanna was released from the hospital, but was back to being home-schooled and having daily sessions with her therapist. Miroku planned on taking her to an amusement park in the next city on the therapist's recommendation. It was to help her relax and associate being in public with having fun.

Sango had also put in for some time off and would be accompanying her parents on a trip to the town where every member of her family was buried. After the funeral, they were going to spend some time as a family to reconnect.

Of everyone, Rin and Kirara had come out the best. Neither seemed overly traumatized by the events, but lapped up the extra affection their respective guardians were pouring on them. Kagome had laughed when Inuyasha come home with a brand-new light blue, stuffed unicorn for his niece. The toy was almost as big as the little girl was. She later found out that Sesshoumaru had given his daughter a stuffed white dog and Inuyasha was just trying to outdo his brother, again.

Just as the month was drawing to a close, so did Naraku's trial. The jury was out for five days and requested to see several bits of evidence again. The waiting was nerve-racking. Finally, they made their decision.

It was hard walking back into the courtroom again. Kagome was a little surprised at the wave of emotion that hit her as she passed through the doorway. The room still looked the same, except the jury box was empty. Both the prosecution and the defense were already seated, but Judge Toutousai had yet to arrive.

The room held an air about it, as if the very walls were holding their breath. The gallery was as full as it had been at the beginning of the trial. But the room did not hum with chatter; instead, it was as if everyone were afraid to speak. Inuyasha looked down at Kagome's slight hesitation and she saw the question in his eyes before it formed on his lips. Shaking her head, she stepped fully into the room and made her way to where Sango was seated with Miroku. She did not miss the fact they were holding hands, but did not comment.

The room was silent for several more tense minutes before the bailiff called for them to stand. The noise was almost deafening as feet scraped against the hard floor. Toutousai tottered up to his chair and took his seat, the room following suit. Kagome remained silent as the jury made its way into the room and filed into their chairs. Finally, everyone was seated.

Kagome's stomach churned. She felt uneasy and more than a little frightened. It confused her more than anything. Inuyasha had said the verdict was like a finality, and it would bring her a bit of closure. In fact, it was the only part of the trial he had wanted her to attend. But she was not so sure. How could ruining another life bring her peace?

She felt Inuyasha's fingers twine with her own, and she looked up. He tilted his head forward and she followed his gaze. The defense had risen to its feet as well as the jury foreman. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"On the three charges of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant… guilty. On the charge of attempted murder in the first degree, we find the defendant… guilty. On the charge of kidnapping, we find the defendant… guilty." As the jury foreman spoke Naraku stood silently, his hands cuffed in front of him and his eyes forward. As each of the charges and their verdicts were read, he seemed uninterested. As if the fact that they would rule the rest of his life was of no concern to him. He just did not seem to care.

"On the two charges of attempted kidnapping, we find the Defendant… guilty. On the three counts of rape in the first degree, we find the Defendant… guilty." Kagome realized it suddenly, and her body went cold. _He doesn't care._ Her heart sank. _As far as he's concerned his life ended the day she died. He loved her. He really, truly loved her!_ Kagome did not realize she was crying until Inuyasha's arm came around her shoulders and he pulled her close.

"It's ok, Kagome. He can't hurt you anymore. He won't hurt anyone anymore." Kagome could only bury her head in his chest. Inuyasha did not understand, not yet.

"On the four charges of child abuse, we find the Defendant… guilty. On the charge of child endangerment, we find the Defendant… guilty. On the charges of breaking and entering, assault, forgery, assault of an officer, and resisting arrest, we find the Defendant… guilty. We would like to add that we questioned the Defendant's mental stability, but could not agree whether or not he was truly insane by the state standard."

"Thank you, foreman. The jury is dismissed." Toutousai turned back to the room. "Sentencing will be scheduled for next week." The elderly judge banged his gavel, the sound ringing through the large room. The silence that seemed to be unanimous, suddenly broke. People chattered and cheered, some congratulating Sesshoumaru on his victory, others giving their condolences to the families of the victims. Kagome watched as two bailiffs led Naraku away. Inuyasha wrapped her completely in his arms and squeezed, before placing a kiss on her temple.

"I told you everything would be alright," he whispered in her ear. Kagome nodded against his chest. It was odd. Part of her wanted to rejoice, to be glad. Perhaps glad that it was over, or perhaps, the more selfish part of her, was glad that the monster who took her brother was getting what he deserved. But the other part of her still hurt for him and all he had lost.

"I want to go home." Her voice cracked, but she knew he heard her. He kissed the top of her head and led her out of the room.

&&&

"Kagome?" Inuyasha lifted himself up on one elbow in the dark bedroom. He had taken her out for a celebration dinner and even rented her favorite movie. The night was hers for the taking, and yet, she had seemed distracted the whole time. Even his plans to treat her to the best sex of her life had fallen flat because she just did not seem interested.

"Hmm?" She rolled over so she could face him.

"Is something wrong? You seem… distant." For a long time she did not answer, but instead curled more into his chest as if seeking some sort of comfort. Inuyasha lay back down and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her blanket-warmed skin against his own.

"How can you stand it?"

"What?"

"How can you stand it? Day in and day out, how can you stand it?" He felt the hot tears begin to roll down his bare chest and pulled her closer.

"I… I just do. After a while, you just don't think about it." His hand came up to stroke her hair. The very reason he kept the details of his work from her had nothing to do with rules and confidentiality, but because he knew how sensitive she was. It was no surprise she was taking this so hard.

"It-it's just so sad." She hiccupped.

"I know. I know. But now, one more madman is off the streets. It's not much, but it's a start. Right?" He tried to cheer her up. Kagome looked up at him; her eyes wet and confused, and her cheeks puffy and pink even in the dim moonlight coming through the window.

"You don't get it, do you?" She pulled away from his embrace and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, not caring that she had no clothes on or if he saw anything. After all, he'd seen it all before, many times.

"What the fuck?" He sat up, letting the blankets fall down around his waist. "Kagome, you aren't making any sense." He wanted to reach out to her, but her odd behavior left him at a loss.

"Do you love me?"

"Kagome…"

"Do you love me, Inuyasha!" Her voice cracked slightly.

"Yes, Kag." He answered gently, crawling across the bed and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I love you. Why are you asking these things?"

"What would you do if something happened to me?" Inuyasha's heart clenched and began to bang against his ribs. Gently, he turned her around so he could see her face. Fresh tears were making their way down her cheeks and he hurried to wipe them away.

"I… I don't know. I don't even want to think about it." Unbidden images began to flash through his mind. The bloody, maimed bodies he had seen over the years suddenly had the face of the woman he loved. The very thought of his Kagome meeting such a horrible end made his stomach churn. Kagome's eyes dropped to the bed, where her hand was gripping the sheets so tight her knuckles were white.

"I feel so sorry for him. He must have loved her very much." Inuyasha had no answer for that. Instead, he pulled her into his lap and held her. The tears had stopped, but she was still sniffling and hiccupping. He was sure they were more from frustration and confusion than anything else, but he still hated to see her cry. For a long time neither one said anything, just sat in the dark and enjoyed each other's company. Slowly, Kagome lifted her head and placed a tender kiss on his jaw. "Thank you. For everything, thank you."

"No problem, Kag. It's all in a day's work for your average super sleuth." She laughed softly and kissed him. He returned the favor with equal passion as he pulled her to lie on the bed once again.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Closing the Case**_

Chapter 22

Naraku's sentencing date was set, though Kagome flatly refused to go or watch it on TV. When Inuyasha asked, she simply said she wanted to put the whole ordeal behind her and get on with her life. He had nodded and not pressed further.

It was Inuyasha's last week of work before his scheduled vacation when Miroku brought Kanna over for a visit, or so Kagome thought. The child that had been so happy and lively had become quiet and scared. She clung to her uncle's leg and hid her eyes against his thigh. When Miroku picked her up and handed her to Inuyasha, she went completely limp and made only the barest of whimpering sounds. Miroku sighed and took his niece back with apologies. With much coddling, cajoling, and promising, Miroku finally got his niece settled in the living room with a movie and a bowl of popcorn.

"So, how do you want to do this?" The dark-haired detective asked, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"In the dining room I guess," Inuyasha answered. "Kagome, why don't you stay with Kanna and watch the movie."

"What's going on?"

"We have an… interview." Miroku provided. Kagome raised an eyebrow, knowing there was more to it than that.

"With?" She prompted when neither detective was forthcoming with further explanations.

"Kouga Prince." Inuyasha replied with a resigned sigh, "He kind of got wind of what was happening and was going to go public. I promised him the exclusive to keep his trap shut."

"Kouga Prince, from Pack News? Isn't he the one who…?"

"Hates our guts? Would love to see us canned? Is a supreme bas-" Inuyasha glanced at the little girl, "bassinette? Yeah, that's the one."

"Why?" Kagome looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"Told you she would be mad," Miroku cooed.

"Bite me."

"Inuyasha!" The white-haired detective flinched.

"If he went public, it could have blown the whole case," Inuyasha defended. Kagome crossed her arms and fixed him with 'the look.' Both detectives instinctively shrank away.

"He really had your best interests at heart, Kagome," Miroku pacified. Kagome turned her glare on him. But after a minute she sighed and relented. There was nothing she could do to change the situation.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. Inuyasha smiled gently and placed his hands on her arms. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, before resting it against his own.

"Just stay with Kanna and don't say anything to him," he answered softly. She nodded and received another kiss, this one on her lips. The sound of someone knocking interrupted anything else from being said. Kagome gave him an encouraging smile, before turning and moving to sit on the floor with Kanna. Miroku turned and opened the door.

Kouga and his cameraman stood on the doorstep. The reporter was dressed in a crisp blue shirt and black slacks. His hair was held in its usual high ponytail, and his blue eyes sparkled. The cameraman was a squat, round little man with watery black eyes. While Kouga swept into the apartment, his cameraman shuffled.

Inuyasha led them into the dining room, taking the long way so Kouga would not have the chance to pass Kagome and Kanna. The table had been covered in a clean white cloth to mask the nicked and marred surface. Kouga snorted, making a comment on how much nicer his own flat was. Inuyasha flicked him off. The cameraman scurried about, setting up his equipment and the two chairs for the shot.

Finally, everyone was settled. Miroku stood off to the side, waiting his turn while Inuyasha and Kouga sat at the table facing each other. They both plastered present smiles on their face as the camera came on and focused on Kouga.

"Thank you, Walter. I'm here now with Detectives West and Priest, the lead investigators of the 'Kop Kid Killer' case. Pack News has been granted the exclusive interview with these two men, to get their insight on such a tragedy." Kouga turned and the cameraman refocused on Inuyasha. "Detective West, this case must have been very hard on both you and your partner, having children close to both you being involved. I'm told you are the one who broke the news to your girlfriend when her brother's body was found. What was that like?"

&&&

Inuyasha stretched his arm out and wrapped it around Kagome's shoulders. She leaned her head against him as they sat on the couch, watching as the opening music began to play the Pack News theme song for the six o'clock news. Inuyasha had insisted on seeing 'how badly Kouga had fucked up what he said.' Kagome just went along with it because she did not want to fight with him.

The leading story was a P.R. piece about an SPCA adoption drive. The picture showed a panning shot of happy puppies, dogs, kittens, and cats, all sitting in their cages looking adorable, before focusing in on a bouncing chocolate Labrador. The sign on her cage read 'Daisy.'

"Here at the SPCA, we think all animals deserve another chance," a woman's voice overlapped the film. "This is Daisy. She's a two-year-old Chocolate Lab and was found with a gunshot wound to her hip. She has made a full recovery and is ready to go to a good, loving home."

"Aww, she's so cute! Inuyasha, can we get a dog?" Kagome turned hopeful eyes on him.

Inuyasha swallowed. "No." Kagome's lips turned down in a pout before she opened her mouth to protest. "We are about to go on vacation." he reminded her.

"Well, how about when we get back?"

"We'll talk about it," was his evasive answer. Kagome gave him an incredulous look, and he focused on the TV. She huffed, but relented. The next story was about a three car pile-up on some main road. This was followed by the weather. Finally, Kouga's piece came up. Inuyasha shushed her even though she was not speaking at the time.

"We all remember the tragic events that swept through the police department this month." The anchor spoke solemnly into the camera. The picture switched to one of the courtroom with Miroku on the stand, though the sound was overlaid with the news personality's voice. "The killer left three children dead, one in the hospital, and two with mild physical injures and mental trauma." The picture again switched to a helicopter's eye view of the stand-off when Naraku held Rin hostage. "We go now to Kouga who was granted an exclusive interview with the two leading detectives in the case."

"Let's see what that fucker did this time," Inuyasha growled. Kagome rolled her eyes. The screen cut to Kouga, smiling into the camera, as he echoed the words from the interview.

Inuyasha and Kagome sat silently as they watched. The report had been cut and pasted together so that both Inuyasha's and Miroku's answers were given to a single question. Occasionally, only one of their answers was shown and some questions and answers were not shown at all. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye. His face was thoughtful and had lost its hard defensive edge. The camera focused on Kouga again, only now the background had shifted to somewhere outside the apartment.

"The police have always been a distant figure, silent guardians of the peace, watching us from afar. We tend to forget that they are human, that they, like us, feel pain, sorrow, and regret. I think sometimes they forget that as well. It is terrible that it took a tragedy such as this to remind us of that. It is this reporter's hope that everyone involved can move forward from the unfortunate events. Back to you, Walter."

Inuyasha sat, staring at the television, his mouth open slightly in shock. Kagome giggled and elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

"What's the matter? Surprised he has a soft side?"

"Feh!"

"Can we go on vacation now?" She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. "They won't hold that room forever."

"Sure, Kag." His eyes softened, "Whatever you want."


	23. Epologue

_**Closing the Case **_

Epilogue

They say 'time heals all wounds'… but they have been known to be wrong.

Kanna Priest, even with all the love and support she received from her uncle, godfather, and multiple therapists, never did completely recover from the trauma of her childhood. She was always quiet and shy, and had few close friends. Miroku did his best to help her fit in, but her wariness of new people and situations made life increasingly difficult as she got older.

Sango returned to her job as an M.E., but there were new shadows behind her eyes that never did fade away. Miroku, after many years, finally asked for her hand in marriage. They later added two boys and a girl to their family, all three of whom went a long way towards helping Kanna heal.

Kirara and Rin suffered few outward signs of the trauma they underwent, though their respective fathers were, if possible, much more protective of them.

Naraku was never sentenced. The day he was scheduled to appear in court, he was found dead in his cell. He had slit his throat during the night using one of the springs from his bed. The only clue to his reasoning was a comment about 'finally being together again' made to a passing security guard.

Kagome finished her schooling and went to work for Sesshoumaru as a full lawyer. He soon came to rely on her, though she always shied away from murder cases. A year after everything had settled down, Inuyasha and Kagome were married in a small ceremony in Central Park. Kagome became pregnant with their first child less than a month later and gave birth to a boy before the year was out. At Inuyasha's suggestion, they named him Souta.


End file.
